As the first year of Aesthetics of Crisis is swiftly coming to an end, I thought a thematic end of year review might be an interesting experiment. So here it is, a year in crisis street art, emerging from urban activism and social movements, featuring old and new icons, following no particular logic and informed by some inevitable biases.
February
While the catholic church still somehow manages to hold on to its relevance, one creepy pope was replaced with a slightly less creepy one. Top: Blu mural detail in Rome, Bottom: two works by unknown artists in Athens.
March
Hugo chavez, Venezuelas iconic president, dies at age 59. Photo: mural at the Reclaim your City exhibition in Berlin in 2013.
Cyprus joins the ranks of European countries receiving a bailout from the Troika. Left: mural in Athens, courtesy of bleeps.gr, Right: stencil by WD in Athens.
April
Margaret Thatcher, the lady that everybody loves to hate, dies. Left: Stencil by unknown artist, photo via flickr.com/photos/mermaid99, Right: Paste-up by unknown artist via flickr.com/photos/sheila_blige/.
May
Determined to halt the destruction of a park to build yet another mega-mall, the Occupy Gezi movement erupts in Istanbul and protests soon spread throughout turkey. Left: floor of Taksim square during the uprising, photo via http://occupygezipics.tumblr.com/ Right: stencil by unknown artist, photo via http://turkishlydelightful.blogspot.de/.
June
Former NSA employee Edward Snowden leaks crucial information about the state of global surveillance. Photos via https://www.facebook.com/aRtivism4U / and http://www.streetartutopia.com/.
Government protests in Egypt re-errupt, with street art, graffiti and murals playing a crucial role in the struggles. Photos: Top – Stencils in Cairo by Ganzeer, Sad Panda and others via bbc.com, Bottom – stencil by Dot Seekay artist in Berlin.
September
The Romanian movement to save the Rosia Montana region from Canadian-run mining development starts its weekly protests. Photo via flickr.com/photos/pressthebuttononthetop/.
Antifascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas aka Killah P. is assasinated and killed by members of the Golden Dawn party. Riots ensue and the GD party is officially banned in the aftermath. Photo by tsakalidis konstantinos via http://konstantinostsakalidis.viewbook.com/.
[For a longer post about the aftermath
of Pavlos Fyssas’ murder click here ]
Angela Merkel, the empress of the European austerity regime is reelected German chancellor, almost garnering an absolute majority for her christian democratic party. Top: Paste-up by Scar1 in Athens, Bottom left: mural by Italian artist TVboy in Munich, photo courtesy of tvboy, Bottom right: Sticker by unknown artist in Amsterdam.
[Follow this link for an article I wrote about Merkel-themed
street art for the blog urbantimes.co]
October
A migrant boat—like so many others before it—sinks in front of the shores of Lampedusa leaving about 360 people dead. Photo: Stencil by Mapet in Athens.
December
Former south african president Nelson Mandela dies. Photo via http://m.timeslive.co.za/.
5 year anniversary of the brutal killing of 15-year old Alexis Grigoropoulos on December 6 2008, which sparked a massive revolt back in 2008 and some uproar in 2013. Photo: Mural on a squatted house in rome by Blu.
Police and activists in Hamburg clash violently over Rote Flora autonomous centre. Photo via http://www.turus.net/.
