Sign of the Times

Words: Sue Apfelbaum

Photo: Gus Powell

Puzzling billboards are nothing new to NYC's outer Chelsea neighborhood. From strange Manhattan Mini Storage ads to artist Patrick Mimran's cryptic one-liners, signage in the district residing north of 14th Street and shooting up Tenth Avenue often gives pause. But one recent addition to the western skyline is the most telling billboard of all, a two-tone representation of George W. Bush, his visage contorted in an apish expression. "This Is Our President," it simply declares. Whether you are proud of that fact or not, the sign is one of the more prominent harbingers that the Republicans are coming and with their arrival a battle of ideas will take place on the city's heated pavement.

The painting was created by muralist Stefano (aka Stefano Castronovo), a downtown artist who gained distinction in the '80s for his controversial street paintings of a red-eyed Mona Lisa and another with a burning cross. At the behest of Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson, owners of restaurant The Park, Stefano made this "social statement," he explains, "because [Bush] is really not the president that I would like to have [win] the next election." Proprietors Goode and MacPherson mounted the sign above the restaurant in May and will keep it up through the Republican National Convention, August 30 to September 2, even though an ad for Catwoman has usurped it until mid-July. Luckily, RES caught sight of the sign before Hollywood dollars could render it temporarily invisible.

Accomplished street photographer Gus Powell, who made the cover photo of the president's likeness, was chosen for his ability to capture daily life, and in this case the perceptible tension that has been in the air to some degree ever since 9/11. Powell is that rare New Yorker who was born in this city and still calls it home. His first collection of photos, The Company of Strangers (J&L Press), was published last year based on his observations of people in Midtown on their lunch hour. His work with Joel Meyerowitz took him to Ground Zero, where he assisted and made his own pictures of the destruction and recovery in late 2001.

A fine artist who at times does photojournalism, Powell adeptly approached the Bush sign and its transformation of the urban landscape. When asked about the impending RNC, though, he shyly remarks, "I can't decide if I should run away." Images of Chicago and the mayhem accompanying the Democratic National Convention of 1968 come to mind, although he doubts it will be quite so bad. "Either I'm going to be here making pictures or I want to be in Montana," he determines.

"It still feels weird that this thing is happening in this town that is not really connected to the administration," Powell adds. "But then it's so obvious because of the 9/11 connection." The City makes a nifty backdrop for Bush?s ad campaigns, yet its Republican leadership bears little in common with this conservative White House. Lacking support in federal funding, tax breaks or even respect, New York will be heavily burdened. Powell echoes most people's biggest fear when he states, "The way things will be controlled will be pretty bizarre."

The summer of 2004 will no doubt be remembered for many things, but at the moment, as the "This Is Our President" sign looms overhead, we hope it will be followed by a happier November.