Broken Missile by Peter Kennard. Photo by Luna Park.
For our last set of ad takeovers in 2019, we partnered with the British political artist Peter Kennard, who has spent five decades creating iconic visuals that combat war and oppression. We selected two of Kennard’s classic anti-war posters, plus one recent design, all touching on war, and one especially-timely piece as the impeachment inquiry moves forward.
Earth (New World Order) by Peter Kennard. Photo by Luna Park.
In his recent book Peter Kennard: Visual Dissent, Kennard wrote about the placement of his work: “The question of how to reach as large and varied an audience as possible is as vital to me as the work I make. I try to show my work in locations beyond the spaces designated for experiencing art. I want to develop forms that can easily slide from the gallery into the street and back again. For me, there's no right or wrong place to show my work.”
In what we promise was a complete coincidence, the above bomb-dropping ghoul just happens to be located right outside the Manhattan home of a certain art-loving arms dealer. Hopefully, he appreciates being part of Kennard’s large and varied audience.
And finally, there’s Trump. Sometimes, when Trump forgets who Frederick Douglass is or rants about how often people flush the toilet, it can be tempting to dismiss the president as a mentally-deficient clown. However, he is also commander-in-chief, the man who could unleash nuclear war with a tweet. Kennard’s SubTrump poster is a stark reminder.
SubTrump by Peter Kennard. Photo by Luna Park.