David Amoroso
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The Pollinators by David Amoroso. David Amoroso is also a returning artist whose work, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was featured in the first Art for the People show. Amoroso normally does large scale portraits of people, but he has turned his sights to other living things that are also important to our earth. Amoroso has a series of insects which can be seen in the Art for the People: The Earth logo. The bee and the monarch butterfly are both pollinators. We depend on birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and other small mammals that pollinate plants for much of the food that we eat. By helping plants reproduce, pollinators also sustain our ecosystem. Today’s population of monarch butterflies and bees are declining. Many people in the United States are now planting gardens with native plants to attract these insects. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.)
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Bandit
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For audio tour: Untitled by Bandit. This piece was done by Bandit in 2021 on Earth Day to make a statement on the state of the Earth. This piece speaks entirely for itself. As the candle burns down, the picture depicts the globe. Bandit is an American based in L.A. and travels the U.S. by hopping trains. No one knows his real identity. Bandit makes statements that can sometimes be seen as radical and not always pleasant. His increasingly intricate murals and stencils aim to confront his viewer with the most urgent socio-political issues of our time. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Jessica Moon Bernstein-Schiano
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Rise Up by Jessica Moon Bernstein-Schiano was painted in Boulder, Colorado, as part of the city’s annual Street Wise Boulder “ARTivism” mural festival. It was created in 2020 and is a call to action. This piece is composed of mixed media. The iceberg is wheat paste, which is used as a metaphor for melting ice. Composed of flour and water, wheat paste has been used for centuries to paste posters up on the sides of buildings. The bear is made from pasted paper. Bernstein-Schiano uses as many natural things as she can in her artwork. Most of her work contains recycled items that are considered trash. The reuse of materials helps people to see the trash in a different light. Although the future of the Polar Bear and the ice caps are bleak, Bernstein-Schiano wants to emphasize that there is still hope for keeping and restoring a beautiful world. Therefore, Rise Up is a hopeful and optimistic statement. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Bordalo II
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Half Baby Wolverine by Bordalo II Bordalo II creates his murals from trash. He takes what is harming the earth and recycles it into a statement. He is famous for using street garbage to create stunning animal sculptures to warn people about pollution, and about all types of endangered species. Since 2012, Artur Bordalo has created about two hundred animal sculptures using more than 60 tons of reused materials. His installations can be found all around the world. This piece, called Half Baby Wolverine, was created in Lynn, Massachusetts. Bordalo collects all the trash from the area that he’s currently working in. The X in the middle of Half Baby Wolverine is the mark firefighters put on buildings to identify them as abandoned, so that if the building catches on fire, fire fighters would know that it is unoccupied. Bordalo took this X from one side of the building and incorporated it in his piece. He lives in Lisbon, Portugal; his neighborhood is clean since he scavenges the street every day for trash to reuse. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Kia Carter-Duras
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Plant the Seed was created in Stockton, California by Kia Duras. This piece was created for a project that promoted food security in the area around Stockton, her hometown. Stockton is a very depressed, crime-ridden area, so a series of murals with a food security initiative has brought information, knowledge, and beauty to the city. Duras has five daughters. Knowing that her daughters would pass this wall riding on the bus to school, she asked them for their help in composing the message and designing the image. Duras hopes that her daughters as well as the community will also be proud of the mural. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Betsy Casañas
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Yaucromatic Project is by Betsy Casanas. Casanas doesn’t usually do such decorative pieces, but this piece is part of a project in Puerto Rico. In September 2017 Hurricane Maria devastated the Puerto Rican Island. Since then, artists have come to Puerto Rico each year to decorate revitalizing areas with street art in hopes to bring in tourists. The guiding principle of her piece, like Art for the People, is that “art is not only for museums, but also for people.” (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Nico Cathcart
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Delta by Nico Cathcart. Delta was painted in 2020, when Hurricane Delta was hitting the United States. Climate change scientists have warned that rising temperatures in the ocean have caused an increasing number of damaging hurricanes, causing the erosion of shores on the eastern coastline, as well as massive coastal floods. The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season was the most active in the history of U.S. hurricane tracking.
Species in Peril was painted by Nico Cathcart. Cathcart is in the process of going deaf, and now relies on hearing aids and lip reading to communicate. She often includes birds in her work as a nod to her disability. It is the song of the birds that she misses the most. Species in Peril was created for a fundraiser and features a Bachman’s Warbler. At the time the mural was created, the Bachman’s Warbler was listed as a species of “extreme concern” for extinction. That’s why shepainted the bird to look as if it were fleeing the world. Sadly, in September 2021, the U.S. Federal Fish and Wildlife Service declared that the bird is now extinct. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Nani Chacon
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Constellations by Nanibah “Nani” Chacon. Constellations was created by Chacon, who is a Navajo Indian, a Chicana artist who grew up both in Mexico and New Mexico in the United States. This piece was created for the Valle de Oro mural project. This an area of 550 acres of land that was previously used for hay and dairy production, but now they have begun the process of restoration to return the land back to a use reflective of the lower Rio Grande valley in New Mexico. Chacon believes that while we champion the science of wildlife conservation, the idea of conservation should be rooted in our respect and care for the land. She believes that we must recognize that it is our responsibility to care for life and passing that care and life on to the next generation. This piece is dedicated to her father Lorenzo Chacon, who always shared his love of planting trees with his children and community. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Silvia Lopez Chavez
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Rise is by Silvia López Chavez is located in Boston Harbor. This piece was part of the 2020 Sea Walls Boston, a worldwide mural project that brought artists from all over the world to create murals in order to bring attention to the importance of the ocean. The imagery in this mural also alludes to sea level rise and Boston’s vulnerability as a coastal city. Native animals, seaweed, and plants pulled by a net navigate through plastic objects and particles floating in the water. The almost submerged woman at the center of the painting, represents the past, present, and future of our collective livelihoods, taking action and caring for a better tomorrow. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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MISS CHELOVE
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She Smiles 100 Suns was created by Miss Chelove [shell-LOVE]. Miss Chelove is one of Washington, D.C.’s most well-known street artists. Her work is all over DC, including the Zena Hotel, a hotel that specifically caters to women. Miss Chelove emphasizes the role of women in the future of the sustainability of our earth. Most of her artwork is female-centric. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Louis Masai
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The Manatee is part of The Art of Being series by Louis Masai. In 2017, British-born artist Louis Masai travelled from New York to California, and then back across to Florida painting bright, vibrant murals dedicated to educating the American public on endangered species. He painted 20 murals in 11 states during the course of his project. Each mural was dedicated to an endangered species found in or around the city where it was painted. The Manatee was painted in Miami, Florida. Many manatees die each year from starvation due to the lack of seagrass in the waters around the state. Many Florida officials have blamed the death of the seagrass on waste and pollution run-off. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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MasPaz
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Condor by MasPaz. People might recognize the bold style of this work by MasPaz, who was also featured in the first Art for the People exhibit. MasPaz means “more peace” in Spanish, and with his art, he’s always bringing more peace and educating young people. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, he has held free online art classes for kids. During an interview with The Smithsonian’s Center for the Folklife & Cultural Heritage Magazine, MasPaz revealed that he was an orphan from Columbia who was adopted as a toddler, and subsequently raised in Virginia. He gives a percentage of his profits from his paid work to his orphanage in Columbia. MasPaz’s works can be seen in many places throughout Washington, D.C., as well as in various locations around the world. He also collaborates with his good friend Miss Chelove [shell-LOVE] on many projects. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Tom Meyer
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This Untitled piece by Tom Meyer represents our oceans. Meyer grew up on Long Island, New York and spends much of his time on the coast of New England. He grew up on the water and this untitled piece represents Tom’s vision of the future of our oceans if we don’t act fast. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Felipe Ortiz
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The Heart of the Ocean by Felipe Ortiz is also located in the Boston Harbor and is part of the 2020 Sea Walls Boston project. The heart of the ocean are the corals and coral reefs, and they are some of the most diverse and valuable ecosystems on Earth. Coral reefs support more species per unit of area than any other marine environment, including about 4,000 species of fish, 800 species of hard corals, and hundreds of other species. Coral reefs also protect coastlines from storm damage and erosion. Climate change, overfishing, and pollution are the main reasons coral reefs are dying all over the world. Half of the world’s coral reefs have died in the last 50 years. Ortiz also runs an international artist exchange to bring artists from different countries together to collaborate and narrow the distance between people through art and community. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Chris Riggs
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Love Mother Earth by Chris Riggs. Chris Riggs is also a returning artist. Riggs created this piece, Love Mother Earth, just for China. Riggs is honored to be sending this love letter to the people of China! (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Ivan Roque
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Fall of the Artic King by Ivan Roque. Ivan Roque is Cuban-American, he is quite famous and does commercial artwork for companies such as Microsoft, Seagram’s, and Samsung. Like many artists, he uses the money from his paid work to fund his statement work, like Fall of the Artic King. “The idea behind Fall of the Artic King is the impending extinction of the great polar bear, a creature so magnificent and powerful that one can only be in awe of its presence.” Roque has decided to create a thinned out polar bear due to the lack of prey. In many cultures around the world, the chrysanthemum symbolizes death, and it is often used during funerals. Its vines are a symbol of death coming near. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Tallboy (Chris Coulon)
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Death to Plastic! by Tallboy. Tallboy is a graphic designer and loves doing skateboard art. Tallboy’s Death to Plastic! was part of the 2021 Sea Walls Boston project. Plastic pollution has a direct and deadly effect on wildlife. Thousands of seabirds, sea turtles, seals, and other marine mammals are killed each year after ingesting plastic or getting entangled in it. Never let a balloon float away, it will end up in an ocean killing animals. There is an island of trash in the Pacific that covers 1.6 million square kilometers! Tallboy’s art reminds us that our oceans should not be used as a dumping ground. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Stefan Ways
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Overconsumption is Killing Us: Orangutan by Stefan Ways. This is part of Ways’ Overconsumption is Killing Us project. The world’s orangutan population has decreased by half in the last 60 years. Orangutans play a vital role in seed dispersal and in maintaining the health of forest ecosystems. The destruction and degradation of the tropical rainforest, particularly lowland forest, in Borneo and Sumatra is the main reason orangutans are threatened with extinction. The illegal animal trade has also been a factor in the decline of wild orangutan populations. For each animal, Ways creates them throughout the U.S. and Europe using wheat paste and the junk mail that he collects in a week. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
 Overconsumption is Killing Us: Grey Wolf by Stefan Ways. Stefan Ways is another artist who also exhibited in the first Art for the People show. Ways had done a series in Europe and the United States called Overconsumption is Killing Us. He saw all the junk mail he got and put it to use. Each piece is a week’s worth of junk mail. Where does all this trash go? Do we think about it once it’s out of sight? Each piece he creates an animal that is on the endangered list or plays an important part in a dying ecosystem. Historically, Europeans who settled the United States brought with them an intense hatred and fear of wolves because the wolves would sometimes eat their livestock. Human activity such as poisoning, trapping, and shooting wolves led to the almost complete extinction of wolves in the United States. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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 Overconsumption is Killing Us: Blue Heron by Stefan Ways. This piece can be found in Baltimore by the Chesapeake Bay. Today the Chesapeake Bay faces serious problems due to human activities; including polluted stormwater runoff, over-fertilization and pollution from animal wastes, deforestation, wetland destruction from agricultural, urban, and suburban development; as well as the problems from the sea level rise caused by global climate change. The heron is an integral animal in the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Like Grey Wolf, this piece was also created with a week’s worth of junk mail Ways received. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
 The Giving Tree by Stefan Ways. The Giving Tree is painted on a school wall in Portland, Oregon. Stefan Ways was commissioned to make this painting to represent the school as a pillar in the community, and to highlight the school’s commitment to donating produce from their own garden to the neighboring homeless shelter. This school is in an economically depressed area in Portland. In the painting hands appear from either side of the tree as if they are giving. One hand holds a seed to grow, while the other hand opens to show a silhouette of a hummingbird holding a heart-shaped key which represents love, security, and joy. The children represent the next generation, and the relationship between the people and their communities. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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Matt Willey
This untitled piece by Matt Willey is another part of Matt Willey’s 50,000 bee project around the world. This work is on a community center in Vermont where members invited him to bring the beauty of his art and information about the essential role of pollinators to their building. Matt lives in New York state but took a trip to Vermont specifically to photograph this piece for Art for the People: The Earth. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.)
This untitled bee artwork by Matt Willey containing the pink lotus blossom in the lower left-hand corner was created specifically for Art for the People: The Earth. Willey has dedicated his life and art to educating communities about the importance of bees as pollinators. Bees are extremely endangered and are being killed by pesticides and shrinking habitat. We are losing so much land to development, as a result, we are also losing the plants that keep bees alive and pollinating. Willey’s bees have been painted in various locations such as a firehouse, a school, and a community center throughout Washington, D.C. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.)
Untitled bee artwork by Matt Willey. Willey has committed to hand-paint 50,000 honeybees, the number in a healthy, thriving hive, in murals and installations around the world. Since 2015, he has created 35 murals and painted over 8500 bees across the U.S. and the U.K. All the other bees you will see by Willey are part of his ongoing project. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.)
Art for the People: The Earth Logo
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The Art for the People Earth logo was done by Sanny, Art for the People’s creator and curator. Sanny is passionate about street art that makes a statement and changes the community locally and worldwide for the better. Sanny is a huge believer of art for all people, and of art that it is accessible to everyone. David Amoroso is a friend of Sanny’s, and graciously let her add his pollinators and cicadas to the logo. This year saw the emergence of millions of 17-year cicadas, a species that emerges from underground once every 17 years to mate and die. Cicadas provide aeration for the ground and food for the birds. We need to protect pollinators as they are integral to sustainable ecosystems. (Transcript was provided by the artist to explain their works and background. Artists’ views are their own and do not represent the United States Government.) |
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