All posts tagged: Kstell

The people of NYC and the rest of the country are celebrating the 250th anniversary of the US independence this weekend, with plane flyovers, tall ships in the harbor, barbecues on the sidewalk, packages of tube socks for sale on card tables next to bootleg Knicks t-shirts, loud music blasting out of car windows, overbearing heat, and an occasional thunderstorm. The ideas about democracy, equality, and individual liberty that we are celebrating are not fully in effect at the moment, and most people know it. But that’s no reason not to talk about it over a hot dog, a beer, a game of volleyball or frisbee – and to walk barefoot through the grass in the park with your friend, your mom, your son.

This week, we split our time between Europe and the US, and you can feel the heat and stress on the streets in both cities. The specific worries may vary, but there are certain similarities around the world today, almost everywhere, including increasing financial pressures on everyday people while corporations have just recorded record profits, a growing right-wing targeting of immigrants that doesn’t really solve any problem, and a strange but steady global drumbeat for war that is not coming from the people.

We looked for some of these anxieties reflected on the walls this week, but street art rarely behaves like an obedient political commentator just to please your agenda. It’s more like the neighborhood cat: independent, occasionally affectionate, impossible to instruct, and perfectly content to ignore the crisis everyone else is talking about. Just when you expect a manifesto, it offers a cartoon character, a nostalgic vignette, or a syrupy poem. Then, when you least expect it, it scratches you with something unexpectedly sharp.

Here is our regular interview with the street – this week mostly from Berlin, and you can make your own divinations. This week features Alaniz, DCKMRS, Don John, El Bocho, Jan Bauer, Kids These Days, Kstell, Obey, PichiAvo, and VOLK.