The World: Ratko Mladic Inspires Graffiti War in Serbia
Twenty years after the beginning of the Bosnian war, Ratko Mladic went on trial Wednesday at The Hague. The former Bosnian Serb general was arrested last year in Northern Serbia after years as a fugitive. He’s accused of genocide, and crimes against humanity, including the massacre of 8,000 men and boys at Srebrenica in 1995.
Yet some in Serbia’s far-right consider Mladic a hero, and they continue to pay him tribute.
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| Photo by Nate Tabak/The World |
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| Photo by Nate Tabak/The World |
TKV and others have fought back by appropriating right-wing graffiti. She added a bindi to the forehead of a Vladimir Putin graffiti done by a Nasi supporter. In Belgrade’s outskirts, another artist turned Mladic into a vampire.
“It’s like a rebellion,” according to TKV. “It’s like saying, you cannot force us to take this crap any more. It’s everywhere, you know.”
Next, we return to the graffiti renaissance in Egypt...
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| "Fuck injustice". Photo by Daniel Finnan/RFI |
Cairo's graffiti artists offered a sarcastic rebuttal to city authorities on Thursday during the last day of voting in Egypt's presidential elections. Following plans to whitewash street art on Mohamed Mahmoud St, artists instead began the whitewashing themselves spelling out a cynical phrase in Arabic - "forget about the past, focus on the elections".
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| Photo by Daniel Finnan/RFI |
"We decided to do it, but our way," independent artist Mahmoud Hany tells RFI, his hands covered in paint after descending down a ladder.
And finally, in keeping with the political theme I present to you the saga of the Gerald Ford stencils...
Yahoo! News: Gerald Ford graffiti pops up in Michigan hometown
Former President Gerald Ford is remembered in his hometown of Grand Rapids by a museum and a stretch of interstate. Now, a graffiti artist has decided to memorialize the 38th commander in chief on the freeway that bears his name.
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| Photo by Katie Greene/MLive | Photo by Katie Greene/MLive |
Several stenciled Ford images have popped up recently along east I-196 in the West Michigan city. One is accompanied by the phrase, "I am indebted to no man" — words spoken by Ford in 1974 after he took the oath of office. It was taken from the full quote, "I am indebted to no man and only one woman, my dear wife, Betty, as I begin this very difficult job."
MLive: Fourth Gerald Ford graffiti image found on river side of DeVos Place in Grand Rapids
Another graffiti image similar to those depicting the former president found on the side of I-196 (Ford Freeway) last month has been spotted on the river wall below the DeVos Place convention center, overlooking the man's grave across the river.
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| Photo by Katie Greene/MLive | Photo of Gerald Ford by the White House pool. |
This one is of Ford in a swimsuit and towel, looking ready for a dip in the Grand River. It appears to be a stencil made from a photo of Ford in a studly pose by the White House pool, a place of which he was apparently fond.
The Rapidian: Gerald R. Ford graffiti remains, debate continues
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the City of Grand Rapids were flooded with questions about their take on the graffiti, while in a more public arena the question once again resurfaced: is a well-executed piece of street art considered graffiti or actual art? And part and parcel to that discussion, should the stenciled image of our former president be removed from the freeway and surrounding area?
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"I think they're actually pretty cool. I know this city sort of has a reputation for being clean, but I think there is and always should be a place for that kind of art," added Tim Smith, manager of a local bookstore.
MLive: Unflattering scrawl painted over Gerald Ford graffiti pops up on West Michigan blog
Apparently, not everyone in Grand Rapids is a fan of former president Gerald R. Ford.
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| Photos by Chris Clark/MLive | ||
The words “war criminal” have been painted over a pair of stencil graffiti tributes to the former president that were painted on the side of I-196, the freeway which bears his name, in several places this month.
MLive: Gerald R. Ford graffiti finally removed from side of I-196 in Grand Rapids
Several graffiti images of former President Gerald R. Ford that were found on the side of I-196 in Grand Rapids have finally been painted over, presumably by state road crews.
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| Photo by Garret Ellison/MLive |
The images appeared this spring on the side of the Ford Freeway near the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and the Gerald R. Ford Federal Building.
The images sparked a debate among MLive readers about whether the rogue street art was a legitimate tribute that deserved to be left alone, or vandalism that should be removed.
The images were eventually defaced by someone who scribbled the words “war criminal” over them.
Other alterations to the images included a text box containing the Grand Rapids motto “Motu Viget” and a painting-over of Ford’s face with an image of the Guy Fawkes mask from the movie “V for Vendetta.”
See you next time!