From Italy we find that stencil street artist John J. Mahyo paid tribute last month on the anniversary of John Lennon’s murder to his anti-war past. Lennon’s song with Yoko Ono “Happy Xmas (War is Over) is re-interpreted here with a stencil called “After Xmas (War Will Be Over)”.
John J. Mahyo “After Xmas (War Will Be Over)” Photo © John J. Mahyo
We contacted the stencil artist to get an understanding of the piece and it’s placement on the wall of a military zone. He discussed how the original song was a protest against the war in Vietnam and now 40 years later it looks like history has repeated itself as we are told that the 9 year war in Afghanistan must continue 2,3,4,5 more years. And he worries about other potential conflicts brewing on the world stage. He says he intended this piece as “a call to prevent the imminent threat of a hypothetical nuclear war, if the tests carried out by North Korea (the 9th country in the world to have the atomic bomb and the 3rd most militarized) go wrong, it could potentially have disastrous consequences.”
Today, with a multitude of electronic images flying at people from every screen, a simple hand made stencil seems “retro” and tied to that earlier age – and a reminder that every person reading this was born into an age of war that never seems to end. Says Mahyo, it’s “The same old story… Men who hate other men, who face each other in a game of dominoes with weapons of mass destruction instead of the common cards. The wars of any size only bring destruction, sadness and anger. So to avoid this, I wish you all a happy New Year of peace and love, and hope that others will come.”
John Lennon listens to the streets in this photo attributed to Yoko Ono on beatlesbible.com.
Other Articles You May Like from BSA:
Martha Cooper and Roger Gastman Release "Spray Nation": "Subway Art" on Steroids
Subway Art on Steroids: Spray Nation Sorts Through Mountains of Kodachromes Spray Nation by Martha Cooper and Roger Gastman, with a foreword by Roger Gastman and essays by Steven P. Harrington, Mi...
Subway Art on Steroids: Spray Nation Sorts Through Mountains of Kodachromes Spray Nation by Martha Cooper and Roger Gastman, with a foreword by Roger Gastman and essays by Steven P. Harrington, Mi...
"No Means No" Performance Brings Bloody Handprints to Houston-Bowery Wall
“Resist!” and “No Means No!” were the messages at the Houston-Bowery Wall on Sunday as the sun descended at the end of the weekend while a silent and dramatic performance organized by Jasmine Wa...
“Resist!” and “No Means No!” were the messages at the Houston-Bowery Wall on Sunday as the sun descended at the end of the weekend while a silent and dramatic performance organized by Jasmine Wa...
BSA Film Friday: 08.26.22
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities. Now screening:1. Bandaloop. Excerpts from Field. Part II of the multi-year work LOOM.2. Bandaloop. FLOOD, Worl...
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities. Now screening:1. Bandaloop. Excerpts from Field. Part II of the multi-year work LOOM.2. Bandaloop. FLOOD, Worl...
Ode to Spring 2019
We have been chasing this Spring 2019, beginning in Madrid late February Bilbao early March, mid-March the tulips in Berlin, then the warmth of spring in Queretaro, Mexico. Finally, we caught up with ...
We have been chasing this Spring 2019, beginning in Madrid late February Bilbao early March, mid-March the tulips in Berlin, then the warmth of spring in Queretaro, Mexico. Finally, we caught up with ...
"Monument-Of-Many" Installation at Monumenta Leipzig
An unusual exhibition that combines works from the established to the newcomer, Monumenta was mounted by a team of about 25 people in only five weeks inside this cavernous former metalworks ...
An unusual exhibition that combines works from the established to the newcomer, Monumenta was mounted by a team of about 25 people in only five weeks inside this cavernous former metalworks ...