“All’s Well That Ends in Impeachment #ShakespeareInTheTrump”
“The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.”
New York’s jewel of free theater in Central Park is actually trending on Twitter, believe it or not. The production of Julius Ceasar features a Trumpian-looking lead character and it has inflamed people who haven’t heard of Shakespeare – which means a large swath of pretty/handsome bobble heads on US TV. The cautionary story actually has referenced modern leaders in productions historically in theaters in recent years and as a rule. There is even a story about Orsen Wells directing a version with actors in Nazi uniforms in the 20s or 30s.
More recent productions have included an Obama lookalike (“Caesar is cast as a tall, lanky black man” ) and a Hillaryesque woman in a white pantsuit, so why people are scandalized we don’t know. Two protesters actually stormed the stage Friday night during the performance, and lily-livered brands like Delta Airlines and Bank of Russia have pulled their financial support of the production. This is what happens when the Arts are cut out of a generation of schools, sisters and brothers.
And in other polarized news, the planned protest (and performance piece) in front of the Houston-Bowery wall is still scheduled for this afternoon. Artists and organizers have been reaching out to tell us about the protest along with possible other demonstrations which have been kick-started by the controversial choice of artist David Choe by Goldman Arts to paint the wall. Rape, Rape Culture, the normalization of sexual abuse, predatory behavior and attitudes toward women, and related issues will be in the discussion due to Choe’s own involvement in a possible rape scenario by his own account and his subsequent muddy explanations about it. Choe’s public apology yesterday via Instagram may have altered the calculus slightly but the bigger issues still prevail and many opinions on social media still question Goldman’s silence on the topic. Meanwhile, the wall has pretty much been dissed completely.
Finally, the drama of the Welling Court mural festival, which we actually do not know any drama about and which brought all sorts of community murals to this Queens working class neighborhood for the 8th year last weekend. We got out there to shoot a number of the walls without the crowds for you this week, and here’s a selection below.
So here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring A Visual Bliss, ASVP, Below Key, Cey Adams, Crash, Daze, Dek 2 DX, Dennis McNett, Dirt Cobain, Eelco Virus, Eyez, EZO, Ghost Beard, I am Eelco, John Fekner, Jonny Bluze, LMNOPI, NYC Hooker, Patch Whisky, Queen Andrea, Ramiro Davaro-Comas, Rob Sharp, Sean 9 Lugo, and Toofly.
Top image: Dennis McNett. Detail. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dennis McNett. Detail. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Rob Sharp. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
LMNOPI. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
John Fekner. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A Visual Bliss collab with Sean9Lugo. Detail. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A Visual Bliss . Sean9Lugo. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
I Am Eelco. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Queen Andrea. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Cey Adams. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
John Fekner. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
#dek2dx. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
EZO. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
NYC Hooker. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Daze . Crash. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
TooFly. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dan Witz. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ASVP. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ramiro Davaro-Comas. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Below Key. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Patch Whisky . Ghost Beard. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Johnny Bluze. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
EYEZ. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dirt Cobain. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Astoria, Queens. June 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
