George Zimmerman's untitled painting for sale on eBay (via ebay.com)

George Zimmerman’s untitled painting for sale on eBay (via ebay.com)

George Zimmerman is on a roll. First he gets acquitted of murder; then he gets away with domestic violence; then he gets his guns back (all five of them); and now bids for a painting he made are up to $99,966 on eBay. Is there anything this man can’t do?!

Yesterday, when Gawker wrote about the artwork, which had been floating around the web at the time, the offers were a whopping $212.50, which didn’t sound particularly noteworthy. But in the less-than-24-hours since then, there seems to have been a veritable bidding war, as someone is now offering nearly $100,000 — and there are still three days left. I shudder to think how high this will go.

The latex-paint-on-canvas work shows a waving American flag — à la Shutterstock — in muted blue tones. “GOD” is written in a stripe at the top, and under it, the words “ONE NATION” — get it?! Then, below that, “with LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.” I think we can safely say this is least inspired/least self-aware/most unoriginal/most horribly ironic painting in history.

Zimmerman, it seems, is taking a page from the George W. Bush playbook — turn negative media attention positive with art! There is a small silver lining here, though: in his description of the piece, Zimmerman writes:

Everyone has been asking what I have been doing with myself. I found a creative, way to express myself, my emotions and the symbols that represent my experiences. My art work allows me to reflect, providing a therapeutic outlet and allows me to remain indoors 🙂

At least if he stays indoors, theoretically, fewer people will get hurt.

h/t NY Mag

Jillian Steinhauer is a former senior editor of Hyperallergic. She writes largely about the intersection of art and politics but has also been known to write at length about cats. She won the 2014 Best...

18 replies on “Bids for George Zimmerman Painting Near $100,000 on eBay”

  2. It shows, rather creepily, how the media helps get the word out and propagates a self fulfilling prophecy. Had only a few “poor” people known about it instead of the those with big bucks and offensive standards it probably would not have been news.

    1. I do wonder about this, but I think agree with you only to a certain extent. Obviously the media coverage is feeding him/his ego, but the simple fact this exists in the world is news- and discussion-worthy.

      1. But the “newsworthy” aspect is the only reason anyone knows about it. The bids are due to the media coverage, nothing more. If you saw this painting at a local thrift store you wouldn’t give it a second thought.

  3. As a work of art, I actually don’t think it’s that bad. If one were to read it as an ironic indictment of American ideals, I’d almost call it compelling.

    Of course, if we’re to infer that this represents the conflation of killing an unarmed boy with an act of patriotism, then it’s reprehensible.

    I’m going to go out on a limb and assume the $100,000 bid is just auction trolling.

      1. If it was produced by Ed Ruscha, Raymond Pettibon, or Richard Prince would you have said the same? Or is it only incomprehensibly bad because of the implied message or your (certainly justifiable) distaste for the alleged artist?

        Stylistically, I actually find it very in keeping with the minor twists on pop art that are so popular today. I have no trouble imagining this on a wall in Chelsea.

        Believe me, I’m not out there bidding on this thing, but I would have imagined worse. Aesthetically, this is certainly better than the Obama-burning-the-Constitution style polito-art. I almost wonder if another artist ghost produced it in “partnership” with GZ.

        1. YES. and NO, G.Z.’s worthlessness as a human is not a factor..
          I think W. is a far more reprehensible person, but I’ll be the first to admit I liked a few of his paintings. Unironically. I’m late gen-X, not a ‘millenial’.
          I’m not so sure about the ‘aesthetically better’ than the anti-Obama schlock. I’m no fan of hack-kitschy-illustration, but I’ll take it over the middle-school poster contest aesthetic ANY DAY.
          Chelsea? uhhh, I don’t agree, but either way there is no shortage of awful work hanging in Chelsea any given day.

  4. Yeah someone who draw millions of dollars in spare time just decided to throw out some. It is sounds as real as aliens invading NY tomorrow morning. People who use to make money usually spend sums like this in art on something that they will be able to resell. What is this? work by profilic artist? Mindblowing art? Something unique like fishes in deep sea? Patriotic Art? A lot of greater patriotic messages could be bought for less. Pure nonsense

  5. This is a truly awful painting by an awful person, but I’m at a loss how Z. and his schlock can even be discussed in the same breath as W.’s paintings: a mixed bag, not entirely w/out “artistic merit”, despite what people want to believe, by someone who is a truly despicable monster….categorically evil. Zimmerman is a loathesome ass-bag, a dime-a-dozen. W. is in a category all his own.

      1. Please….are you *really* going to suggest a trigger-happy vigilante is on par with an unapologetic mass-state-sponsored murderer? Curious how that one would play on the streets of Kabul. Baghdad? Mosul? Seriously?
        Idiots like George Z. are a dime-a-dozen (sadly). Most just have not (fortunately….) had the ‘opportunity’ to fulfill their DirtyHarry/DeathWish fantasies. Check the responses to Jerry Saltz via twitter, etc. Dime-a-dozen. Don’t kid yrself. W. is in a category ALL HIS OWN.

        1. Of course George W. Bush has killed more people and is in a category of his own, compared to Zimmerman. But I see absolutely no problem in saying that Zimmerman is taking a page from the Bush playbook, because he probably IS. Bush did awful things, and now all we talk about are his paintings of cats and dogs. I have no doubt that Zimmerman was inspired by his lead.

          1. Ok. That may be all YOU are talking about. Not everyone has signed on to W “hipster icon”. I certainly haven’t. Careful with the “presumptive WE”.

  8. What we have here is a human Chic-Fil-A. You get a tasty breaded chunk to your liking, and you’re striking a blow for your side of the culture wars. Plus the painting goes with your sport shirt and your wife’s bandana. (Actually, a hundred grand is out of the reach of the folks who eat at ChicFilA in solidarity with the Religious Right, and real rich people don’t generally wear flag patterns as accessories. Unless they got their bread from being on a reality show.)

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