Inauguration week was just as bumpy as you could have expected with an incredibly divided country discussing the outgoing president, the incoming president, the foreign interference and weird circumstances around the actual election, the nearly all white all billionaire cabinet nominees, and the Women’s March‘s that vastly overwhelmed Trumps ceremony attendee numbers while “sister” marches took place in nearly 700 cities around the world. This president, more than any one in decades, is galvanizing people to take action and get involved, just not in the way he might have preferred and we’ve been seeing a steady dialogue on the street about him since last fall.
He certainly wasted no time by signing his first executive order within minutes of being sworn in, one that aims to repeal Obamacare and that would deny health care. In the early and mid-2000s there was a lot of anti-Bush/ anti-war street art. At this inauguration George W. looked giddy and relaxed (despite a poncho battle) perhaps because he might not be the most disliked president of the century after all. Trump v. Obama inauguration numbers were pretty stark, and this week Trump’s national approval ratings have tanked, although a fresh war always tends to perk up a presidents approval numbers, so maybe he can start one of those. Not sure if his popularity would go up or down if he triggered a crisis in the financial markets, but it does feel like absolutely anything is possible with this wildcard. You can be sure that Street Art will be probably be there to respond! We’re keep our eyes open.
So here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Adline, City Kitty, D7606, Drsco, El Sol 25, Hek Tad, Homo Riot, Jerk Face, Jose Feliz Perez, Lunge Box, Meguru Yamaguchi, Michael Vasquez, Nimai Keston, Not Art, Shepard Fairey, Sheryo & the Yok, and Vicki Da Silva.
First image above: American Puppet (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Vicki Da Silva (photo © Vicki Da Silva)
Yeah, we didn’t know what it meant either so we looked it up. Here’s what Wikipedia says: Kompromat (Russian: компромат; IPA: [kəmprɐˈmat], short for компрометирующий материал, literally “compromising material”) is the Russian term for compromising materials about a politician or other public figure. Such materials can be used to create negative publicity, for blackmail, or for ensuring loyalty.
In other words, light artist Vicki Da Silva is referencing the apparent influence of the Russian government over the presidential election by smearing Clinton publicly with information they had found. Luckily they didn’t find any information to influence Trump in any way.
Nimai Kesten. This is the wheat-pasted mural of Ai Wei Wei before Hebru Brantley added goggles to it. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Adine (photo © Jaime Rojo)
DRSCO (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jeffrey Gibson with a quote from James Baldwin for #artinadplaces (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Homo Riot (photo © Jaime Rojo)
El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Obey and friends in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Some writers couldn’t resist the white huge canvas that was the Houston Wall, freshly primed for Pichi & Avo’s turn to paint on it this week. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
The Yok & Sheryo in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
D7606 . City Kitty . Lunge Box collaboration. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Meguru Yamaguchi (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Meguru Yamaguchi. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Michael Vasquez . Jose Felix Perez in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
This piece of plywood was tagged several times by different artists at different times. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jerk Face (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Looks like Pepe Le Pew is lurking around for some lovely lady skunk to walk by so he can use his famously suave pickup lines;
“Permit me to introduce myself, I am your new lover.”
“Where are you, my little object of art? I am here to collect you.”
“Is it possible to be too attractive?”
Humans Crossing (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Manhattan, NYC. January 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
