The 2021 Capitol Hill Riot marked a pivotal moment when traditional fact-based representation was briefly overshadowed by hyper-individual politics driven by aestheticized emotion. Kit Messham-Muir and Uroš Cvoro analyze the aesthetics central to 21st-century politics, particularly as they manifested during the January 2021 event. They explore the aesthetic dimensions linked to QAnon, white resentment, and strongman authoritarianism, while examining global trends towards ethno-nationalism and populism that gained momentum after the Cold War and in the current post-ideological age. Building on their research into trauma, emotion, and empathy in contemporary art shaped by conflict, they emphasize how art can challenge the societal drift towards white supremacism and ultranationalism. Adopting an outsider perspective on this American phenomenon and rejecting American exceptionalism, they position the 'Trump Effect' not as a political anomaly but as a reflection of deeper, long-term philosophical shifts in global politics and society. As theorists of contemporary art and visual culture, Messham-Muir and Cvoro delve into how these aspects of the Trump Effect operate through aesthetics, bridging politics and contemporary art, and offering valuable insights into the current political landscape.
