The Culture War Has Already Begun

From the galleries to the streets, the New York City arts community isn't waiting for the RNC to show their opposition to the Republicans.

Greene Naftali Gallery (526 W. 26th St., 8th Floor, 212-463-7770) is currently hosting "American Idyll." The exhibition includes works by Harun Farocki, Paul Chan, Robert Gober, Rachel Harrison, Karen Kilimnik, Carissa Rodriquez, and others that seek to undermine the Bush government's political views, policies and agenda. The show is up through May 1.

Gigantic ArtSpace opens its "Tactical Action" show on Wednesday, April 14. Besides the politcally-charged work in the gallery, they will be doing guerrilla movie screenings around Manhattan. In May, White Columns will mount their "Democracy" show.

World War 3 Arts in Action has announced a "a campaign of murals around Manhattan to bring attention to the arrival of the Republicans in NYC and their intentions to capitalize on the tragedy of September 11th. The murals will celebrate freedom of speech, the constitutional right to peaceably protest as well as drawing attention to the militarization of the NYPD in anticipation to the expected demonstrations this fall."

Some intrepid public artists have already made their marks. A water tower in downtown Brooklyn that can be clearly seen from the Manhattan Bridge has been adorned with a large, flaming circle-A. Graffiti saying things like "stop bush" or "Repubs lie" is becoming a common site around the city.