A mural of President Barack Obama on Grattan Street by Juse One, gone over by Haeler. — Photo by Jeremy Sapienza

A two-year-old mural of President Obama in Bushwick has been partly painted over, provoking a mixture of reactions among local residents and graffiti writers. Frustratingly for many in the neighborhood, the "throwup" seems not to be politically motivated — it is likely just a product of ever-raging rivalries between graffiti crews.  Disgruntled "teabaggers" with a penchant for spraypaint can be crossed off the suspect list.

The mural was painted during the 2008 election fever, with progressives choosing Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton as their preferred Democratic nominee. A wave of Obama-themed art was inspired, including the Grattan Street piece by Juse One of the FUA Krew. The throwup belongs to Haeler of DMS, MSK, and AL crews, and is in turn tagged over in pink with a bemused "WTF."

"I painted this portrait of Obama at a time when I was inspired immensely by his words and the hope that he represented for me politically and personally," said the artist. "I am a Black American, and Barack Obama is a personal hero to me." Juse did not ask permission to create the mural, did not receive compensation for it, and according to him, this makes it "a legit piece of graffiti." The owner of the property appears to be Matrix Steel, the company of alleged Bonanno crime boss Salvatore Montagna, who was deported last year on an immigration technicality.

Local street artist Cash4, showing this coming weekend at Eastern District gallery just around the corner from the mural, contends that his colleagues should maintain an apolitical stance. "Writers should never side with politicians, no matter how much hype is surrounding them," he said.

According to "R," a member of the Skate All Cities crew based in Los Angeles that has collaborated with the tagger, Haeler "doesn’t use email" and doesn’t "enjoy being in the ’spotlight,’" but he has no reason to believe the throwup was political in nature. Juse One agrees.

"I wish that I could say that this kid was making a political statement to go over the Obama mural, or that there was a legitimate dispute or beef between him and myself — that would at least lend some rationale to what happened," Juse said. "I’d be willing to bet this kid is just another street toy spending his nights getting drunk and bombing.  It’s kid stuff."

Morgan-area resident John Hoppin is upset by the defacement. He considers the mural a significant example of public art.

"I think that the artist that made the throwup covering Obama’s face probably doesn’t understand how important the original mural is and has been to residents of the neighborhood," Hoppin said. Referring to the "WTF" cross-out, he continued, "that’s exactly what I thought, WTF?  That throwup deserves crossing out and the original mural deserves restoration."

Matthew Cowherd worked on the president’s campaign and is a co-founder of the New Kings Democrats, a party-reform organization based in Bushwick. Not prone to caring about "some anonymous vandals’ political commentary," Cowherd nonetheless isn’t surprised that a once-untouchable progressive icon has become fair game.

"It was only a matter of time before people realized that the best part of the Obama movement was the movement, not necessarily Obama [himself]," said Cowherd. He added, "But to be fair, he told us that all along."

Cash4 insists graffiti crews routinely tag over each other’s work, regardless of content — it has nothing to do with politics. "Its hard to process non-Obama information for a lot of these yuppie whatevers," he said.

Juse One, for his part, might consider restoring the piece, but it’s unlikely as he now lives in Copenhagen.

"Anyone can bomb," he said. "This mural was a work I did for my community."

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