Saint Hoax

Saint Hoax is a pseudonymous activist/artist and their “Make America Misogynistic Again” campaign is an embodiment of what they call “POPlitical art”. POPlitical art is a self-coined term that “repurposes political and popular ethos”. In “Make America Misogynistic Again”, Saint Hoax take (misogynistic) adverts from the 1950s and embed relatively recent (misogynistic) quotes from Donald Trump on them, in an attempt to point out the similar values and way of thinking in both. As seen through the intertextuality of the campaign, it is evident that Trump’s ideas about women would fit perfectly in the 1950s. What’s interesting to note is that these adverts were not necessarily considered misogynistic when they were released, they were perhaps the norm in their time. However, if they were released today, they would not be considered politically correct. Hence, the campaign pushes the notion that the fact that Trump’s quotes and these adverts hold the same level of contempt and disdain towards women as people, tells us just how conservative his thinking is. In a world that is becoming or at least striving to become increasingly feminist, the election of Trump would set “one of the most feminist countries in the World”, back more than 50 years.

Saint Hoax’s work is satirical and could be considered counter-propaganda in light of campaigns such as Trump’s “Make America Great Campaign.” Through their knowledge about advertising, Saint Hoax have brought pop art and activist art to the forefront of their artwork. Their pseudonym takes the focus away from the artist and towards the art, which also gives them more freedom to be able to say what they want with scrutiny or liability. Working digitally allows them to get the message across immediately as and when they feel is appropriate and relevant. Their campaigns are less ‘artistic’ than their paintings and more ‘activist’ in the sense that they tackle issues at their peak instead of creating timeless masterpieces. Hence, the term POPlitical, encompassing the relevance of political and popular issues represented through art.

A literary piece that would work well with Saint Hoax’s “Make America Misogynistic Again”, would be Carol Ann Duffy’s “World’s Wife” collection. Specifically, “Delilah”, where she explores established gender norms and the concept of toxic masculinity. Both of which are evident in Saint Hoax’s campaign as well. Both texts embody the idea of intertextuality and adapting outdated and outmoded narratives to a modern context to question the progression of social conventions and norms.