Meet the artists and designers planting anti-Trump propaganda in the streets—and one who's for Trump.
With Election Day less than two weeks away, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has said he will only accept the election result if he wins. The likelihood of Trump winning, though, looks increasingly unlikely day by day, leading some of his supporters to suggest that they'll take the fight into the streets if Trump loses.
That's horrifying, but the truth is, artists and designers have already been fighting in the streets against (and sometimes even for) Trump for months. Here are seven of our favorite subversive street-level design hits this election season.
Trump Swastika Posters
Inspired by Pentagram's work for the Hillary Clinton campaign, graphic design professors Mark Fox and Angie Wang from the California College of Arts designed Trump his own logo. It's made up of four rotated, interlocking 14-karat Ts—each one representing a different supposed aspects of the Trump brand, including strength, success, wealth, and impolitic "tell it like it is" speech—that are positioned to create a Nazi swastika in the negative space. Fox and Wang distributed this poster throughout San Francisco's Mission District, where the designers say it spurred some confused responses from onlookers who couldn't actually be sure that a poster containing a swastika was actually meant to be anti-Trump.
No Trump Anytime Parking Signs
These signs, which have been spotted in major American cities such Los Angeles, London, Miami, New York and Chicago, are the creation of Plastic Jesus, an L.A.-based street artist who apparently missed the memo that Donald Trump exclusively double parks in handicapped-only spaces.
Building A Wall Around Trump's Hollywood Star
Another Plastic Jesus joint, this 6-inch tall concrete wall was erected around Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame one afternoon in July as satirical commentary on his plan to erect a 2,000-mile long wall on America's southern border. It came complete with miniature flags and "Keep Out" signs, as well as graffiti on the side that read: "Stop Making Stupid People Famous." Most onlookers found the tiny wall hilarious, with the curious exception of an Edward Scissorhands character actor who reportedly became furious that the tiny wall was stealing his attention. And Trump says his wall is meant to save American jobs!
Undocumented Democrats Say Dump Trump Signs
This one's probably the most subversive of all, really: pro Donald Trump street art! These "Undocumented Democrats Say Dump Trump" posters were put up around Los Angeles in July last year by conservative street artist (bet those are three words you never thought you'd see in a row) Sabo, whose previously produced photomontages for Breitbart of Nancy Pelosi twerking, a greased-up Joe Biden flexing his muscles, and a curiously busty Mark Zuckerberg flashing his nipples.
The Emperor Has No Balls
Probably the most famous guerilla protest art against the GOP nominees: These nude cartoon statues portray Trump as a flabby, veiny man with an orangutang's butt, a micropenis and no testicles. Erected in cities such as Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle back in August, the statues were commissioned from artist Joshua Moore by anarchist collective Indecline. A spokesperson for Indecline told the Washington Post: "Like it or not, Trump is a larger-than-life figure in world culture at the moment. Looking back in history, that's how those figures were memorialised and idolised in their time – with statues."
Loser Light Art
Donald Trump's brand is built upon the idea that he is a winner; anyone who opposes him is therefore a loser. Back in March, artist Vicki da Silva decided to flip the narrative. By using a lamp and a camera set for a long-exposure to perform a piece of street art right in front of New York's 40 Washington Street, da Silva was able to record herself branding Trump Tower with the word "Loser" in big neon calligraphy. "Since Trump has a nasty habit of calling people losers, it was my way of putting it back on him using his name and logo," she told the Huffington Post.
Americans Abroad Vote Bus
This one's from across the pond, but we have to post if for the GIF alone. In the Danish capital of Copenhagen, a city bus has been modified to encourage Americans living abroad to vote. The side of the bus has been covered with a vinyl sticker, so that the wheels—which have been modified to look like a big pair of googly eyes— are constantly rolling around idiotically in Donald Trump's head. The ad, commissioned by Denmark's Social People's Party, was created by the ad agency Uncle Grey. Check it out here.