Stryker Spotting!

[pzarquon]

Have you seen a little Stryker around town recently?

Apparently, a local artist is installing little metal silhouettes of the Army's fancy Stryker vehicle all over the island. Matt Kubo, of the ARTS at Mark's Garage, "is gluing 319 of the cutouts — the number of Strykers coming to O'ahu — in places where people congregate "to give the notion that there is this other presence here." From downtown to Haleiwa, from parks to the Honolulu Advertiser building on Kapiolani, the little Strykers are apparently intended to start a conversation about the military presence in Hawaii.

While the larger political discussion Kubo is trying to stir up is an important one, I'm interested in your thoughts on the method and medium here. Political statement or vandalism? Art or criminal property damage? Something in between? And, of course, I want to know... where have you spotted a little Stryker?

It looks like they've caught the attention of local officials, and some are being removed. I wonder if Kubo's going to try and keep 319 of 'em out there, or finish his pint-sized deployment and let whatever happens happen? Betcha the little things will be hot collectors' items...

[helen]

Re: Stryker Spotting!

If he placed it on his house, his car or place of business it's making a statement. Placing it on things that does not belong to him, sure it's making a statement too but he is also causing vandalism as well.

[LikaNui]

Re: Stryker Spotting (boo hiss)

It's not art... it's vandalism, pure and simple.
The Advertiser removed the one in front of their building because someone tripped on it and fell. I hope they sue the sh#% out of the "artist".
This same vandal also put one on the base of King Kamehameha's statue. The nerve! What's he gonna do next? Put 'em on the palace? The royal burial sites? Various heiau?
Same as grafitti "artists" -- throw the buggah in the slammer.

[damontucker]

Re: Stryker Spotting!

had this guy been a skater...and he put an "S" with arrow pointing through it... would it still be considered Art?

If this is considered ART, then isn't the U-Down thing considered art.

Sryker monuments glued to gathering spots - I call this political graffitti.

[pzarquon]

Re: Stryker Spotting!

They're getting pulled up pretty efficiently, it looks like. Kept my eyes peeled walking downtown today, and saw only a "shadow" of a removed Stryker badge on the corner of Bishop and S. King.

A commercial statement is far more distasteful than a political one, but yeah, both are vandalism and illegal. I kind of smirked at the Advertiser's third-hand report (from within its own building!) that someone tripped over it. Seems like they just wanted to get rid of it without having the action tied to some kind of pro-military bent.

[lavagal]

Re: Stryker Spotting!

Weird place for one:
On the sidewalk at the park above Koko Head School between the bathrooms and the tennis courts. LOTSA epoxy holding it down. Kinda flat and not that interesting to look at.

[helen]

Re: Stryker Spotting!

Encounterd one today at Ward Theater. It was in the middle of the crosswalk just in front of the theater.

[pzarquon]

Re: Stryker Spotting!

A crosswalk, eh? That's some fast-setting epoxy!

I guess Strykers are an endangered species already. Haven't seen one in a while. Of course, one spot you can reliably find a little Stryker is at The Arts at Mark's Garage.



Of course, that's also where you can find what's left of the metal sheets after the little Strykers are cut out.

[pzarquon]

Re: Stryker Spotting!

Spotted another one earlier this week at the corner of Nuuanu and S. King, in front of the old Chinatown branch of First Hawaiian Bank:



I don't know if it was always there, or placed more recently. I'm pretty sure I would have spotted this one earlier if it was part of the original campaign. If it is new, I wonder if Matt Kubo is going around replacing or continuing his deployment of these things.

If it's basically vandalism like graffiti, as I conceded above, why do I revel in finding them? Click through to the Flickr page to read my defense of my apparent hypocrisy!