One year after the murder of Charlie Kirk the VFW in Denver has allowed me to hang the art that I created in tribute to him. I’d presented it four months ago, but it was suggested that the story was too hot, not enough time has passed for people to be comfortable with the content. I could have pulled the old line, “I thought that was the whole point of art, to challenge people” but even I could appreciate how they felt about the art hanging on their walls, especially in a city as liberal (dogma) as Denver. A year has passed since the murder and just about every conspiracy theory you could conjure up has: exploding mics, palm guns, a bullet fired from a drone, it was Israelis, it was the FBI, it was his wife. It was determined just last week that the case will be going to trial. Without a doubt it will be the most watched case since OJ’s. This art will be on display in October on First Friday in Denver. I hope that you’re able to see it.
Like the Covid art that I displayed last month I dedicated a good amount of time getting the pieces together, the whole time in dread knowing that there was no way in hell the VFW was going to allow me to hang the work. The last thing I have is time to waste. Ever since I’ve been showing art in Denver my website has been getting hacked making it difficult for me to be able to support my family. As much as it sucks, these attacks reminds me of the saying, “you take flak when you’re over the target,” so I must be doing something right. Considering the narrative of this art involves a man being murdered by intolerant people who disagreed with his opinions, getting a site hacked and losing a couple of bucks pales in comparison. Don’t get me wrong, if me and my wife ended up living under a bridge these people would laugh and throw things at us as they drove past. It’s dark to think this is what they’ve joyfully become. We are not the same.
This Charlie Kirk art was created and spotted on the streets not long after Charlie’s murder. The tattered textured look is meant to represent the violent reactions that he inspired from those who disagreed with his views, as well as how often and quickly Sabo’s street art is ripped down just as quickly as it’s put up. Night photos are always taken out of fear that the posters will be torn down before the sun comes up for morning photos. I learned a while back that when I’d hear a liberal say that art should never be censored, what they really mean is, art and ideas that they agree with should never be censored. Everything else you can censor the hell out of and as Charlie learned, violently.
Included in my presentation were my Iryna Zarutska pieces, just incase the Kirk pieces were shot down again. Pardon the pun. The brutality of this series makes the Charlie art look like child’s play. If they won’t hang the Kirk pieces they sure as hell aren’t going to hang the Iryna pieces, which only added to my anxiety. Taking over a STOP sign is not as simple as it looks. I’ve seen many half hearted attempts at repurposing one. My approach is to not add a single word to the piece. I want the art that I add to scream “STOP!!!” The art should belong on that sign. I think I pulled it off with her murderer half a second from plunging that knife into her neck, everyone viewing this piece should be appropriately screaming that one word in their head. Included are photos taken from the street hit in Hollywood. One piece boldly and purposefully includes the name IRYNA ZARUTSKA so there is no question as to who this person is and everyone who views these pieces will says her name, even if just in their thoughts.
I CAN’T BREATH! I’ll admit to the art being cluttered. The pieces should have more room to breath. I was so surprised and blown away at being allowed to show these pieces, from both series, that I took the opportunity to throw as much of it up as I could. I was of the mind that this opportunity might never happen again, so show as much as I could in one go. If all goes well next month I’ll curate the display to only include the Charlie Kirk pieces, some of which aren’t showing in this show and hopefully the month after that reshow the Iryna pieces, also including those photos I didn’t have room for on this showing.
“ALL LIVES MATTER” is displayed to remind the viewer just that. I did this with the intention that anyone who takes offense to this small piece probably also cheered the murder of Charlie and dismissed the murder of Iryna simply because she was white and her murderer was black. They are the “DOGMA” that I included in the Charlie Kirk piece. If this art offends you, well I ask, “isn’t the purpose of good art to challenge the viewer?”