Graffiti Art - Issue 45 - July / August 2019

In dit nummer

The season of the final battles is heading toward a dangerous summer. On big screens, the
Avengers have managed to get rid of Thanos, the champion of Malthusianism who wanted
to eradicate half of the population on earth for the other half to survive. On small screens, the
conclusion of Gameof Thrones tastes like ashes, a bit like these giant fires we are growing used
to in a world saturated with carbon dioxide. In reality –if this concept still means something–
the main battle will happen in the United States, where democracy could die in the aftermath
of the 2020elections. How will artists react to the deliquescence and corruption pervading the
WhiteHouse, the Congress and the quiet hallways of the Supreme Court? Will Shepard Fairey once
again put his icon making talent at the service of the candidate promoting freedom and progress?
If only a charismatic candidate were to arise from the good side. Urban art is entertaining, as you
will read in the focus we dedicate to summer festivals. But beyond humor, critical distance and
derision, it might be time to find ways to raise a political awareness that will eventually express
itself in the ballot box in eighteen months on the other side of the Atlantic. The days of criticizing
the consumption society, exploring the limits of pop culture or keeping the flame of vandalism
are over, now it is time to create though-provoking images able to convince people not to place
leadership in the hand of billionaires or providential men but in those of the people themselves.