Los Angeles Artist tricks Google into having her artwork as the top search result for ‘The Next American President’
By Allegra Tenenbaum
When searching ‘the next American President’ on Google Images, the artwork of Los Angeles artist Gretchen Andrew surprisingly appears, rather than images of the current United States Presidential candidates. Andrew employed her hacking skills in order to capture people’s attention and gain recognition as an artist. Andrew’s recent trick is similar to the one she executed last year when she hacked her way into the search results of the Los Angeles Frieze Art Fair, making it appear as if her pieces were actually on display at the fair.
Gretchen Andrew, The Next American President Red, 2020, 121 x 91 cm, vision board on raw canvas.
Before becoming an artist, Andrew graduated college with a degree in Information Systems and had a career in Google’s headquarters in Silicon Valley. She considers herself an ‘Internet Imperialist’ and ‘search engine artist’ as a result of her ability to use Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) as a way to promote her pieces. As an artist, Andrews takes advantage of her past experience in the tech world to improve the success of her art.
Andrew’s series of works entitled The Next American President serve as vision boards for the qualities and values she hopes to see in the next American President. The pieces are collage-style and utilise typically feminine materials, including flowers and butterflies, in order to make a statement about a lack of female representation in both tech and politics.
Photograph of the Gretchen Andrew, 2020, Courtesy of ArtNet News
Her project is accompanied with a website that details her desires for the future of America. The website explains how the vision boards work alongside the ‘law of attraction,’ the rule that putting out positive energy into the world leads to positive outcomes. Andrew expresses, ‘I want The Next American President to believe in love, harmony, choice, nature, respect, democracy, joy, science, international corporation, campaign finance reform, and the rule of law.’
Bibliography
Brian Boucher, “How One Hacker Artist Tricked Google Into Showcasing Her Art When You Search This Election-Related Term,” ArtNet News, November 2, 2020
https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/gretchen-andrew-next-american-president-1920250
Gretchen Andrew, “The Next American President” https://the-next-american-president.com/
Jacqui Palumbo, ‘This artist wants you to Google “the next American President,”’ CNN, October 31, 2020
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/gretchen-andrew-google-the-next-american-president/index.html