Make Everything Great Again

Make Everything Great Again
Street art mural ″Make Everything Great Again″ depicting US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump giving a French kiss to Russian president Vladimir Putin
Artist Dominykas Čečkauskas, Mindaugas Bonanu
Year 2016 (2016)
Type Street art
Dimensions 250 cm × 450 cm (98 in × 177 in)
Location Vilnius, Lithuania
Website Official website

Make Everything Great Again is a street art mural by artists Dominykas Čečkauskas and Mindaugas Bonanu.[1][2][3] It is located on the wall of a barbecue restaurant in the railway station area of old town of Vilnius in Lithuania.[2][3]

The mural depicting then US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump giving a French kiss to the Russian president Vladimir Putin was made known to the broad public on 13 May 2016. The caption Make Everything Great Again plays on Trump's campaign slogan "Make America Great Again".[4]

History

Inspiration

The image draws inspiration from photographs from 1979 of Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker kissing which in turn inspired the 1990 graffiti painting My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love portrayed on the Berlin Wall by Dmitri Vrubel.[2][3][5]

Background

Updated Make Everything Great Again graffiti after the original was vandalised

The artwork was first unveiled on 13 May 2016.[6] Make Everything Great Again appeared on the wall after Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump exchanged statements of mutual admiration, with the President of Russia describing Donald Trump as "a very colorful person, talented without any doubt,"[1][7][8] with Donald Trump replying that it was "a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond."[7][9]

Inspiration

One of the artists, Dominykas Čečkauskas, owned the restaurant Smoking Pig that had asked for the artwork.[1][7][5] He said in an interview: "We saw similarities between the two heroes (Trump and Putin). ... They both have an ego that is too big, and it is funny that they get along well." Čečkauskas said "We are in a sort of a Cold War again, and America may get a president who will want to be friends with Russia."[10] The artists, with the help of the mural, predict that if Russia and the US would ever "make out, it would happen in the Baltic states ... with tongues or with tanks.”.[11]

Government reaction

Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius emphasized the values of civil liberties in his city in a statement to Lithuanian media organization LTnews.net: "There is no censorship in our city. That’s why I support the idea of making this graffiti. It shows that Vilnius is the city of freedom, love and beauty."[12] Šimašius further remarked on a post to his Facebook: "Vilnius is a city of freedom, where we don't have to be afraid of weapon rattling just several dozen kilometres away and express what we believe in without censorship."[12]

Commentary

The work rapidly became viral and commented upon both within its home country and in global newspapers.[7][2][3] BBC News commented, "Once the initial shock has passed of seeing such testosterone-fuelled survivors of Cold War tension kissing, a closer look at the mural reveals a level of subtle political commentary that cuts against the superficial sensation."[13] Esquire called it "a provocative mural, to say the least."[4] Market Watch noted the mural had the impact of "sending a few ripples across the globe."[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Johnston, Jules (May 14, 2016), "Donald Trump kisses Vladimir Putin on wall of Lithuanian restaurant", Politico, retrieved June 12, 2017
  2. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, Adam (May 16, 2016), "This artist's interpretation of Putin and Trump kissing cannot be unseen", The Independent, retrieved June 12, 2017
  3. 1 2 3 4 Krupkin, Taly (May 18, 2016), "Graffiti of Trump Passionately Kissing Putin Goes Viral", Haaretz, retrieved June 12, 2017
  4. 1 2 Griffin, Elizabeth (May 15, 2016), "Here's Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin Kissing", Esquire, retrieved June 12, 2017
  5. 1 2 della Cava, Marco (May 15, 2016), "Putin kissing Trump mural goes viral", USA Today, retrieved June 12, 2017
  6. ↑ Moran, Lee (May 16, 2016), "Donald Trump And Vladimir Putin Will Not Like This Street Art Mural", The Huffington Post, retrieved June 12, 2017
  7. 1 2 3 4 Neidig, Harper (May 14, 2016), "Mural of Trump kissing Putin goes viral", The Hill, retrieved June 12, 2017
  8. ↑ Diamond, Jeremy; Botelho, Greg (December 18, 2015), "Putin praises 'bright and talented' Trump", CNN, retrieved June 12, 2017
  9. ↑ Worland, Justin (December 17, 2015), "Donald Trump Calls Putin Compliment a 'Great Honor'", Time, retrieved June 12, 2017
  10. ↑ Taylor, Adam (May 13, 2016), "The Putin-Trump kiss being shared around the world", The Washington Post, retrieved June 12, 2017
  11. ↑ Prince, Lauren (May 14, 2016), "Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin Lock Lips in Lithuanian Street Art", NBC News, retrieved June 12, 2017
  12. 1 2 "Trump-Putin kiss makes Vilnius 'city of love' – mayor, Delfi", The Lithuania Tribune, May 16, 2016, retrieved June 12, 2017
  13. ↑ Grovier, Kelly (May 18, 2016), "What does the Trump/Putin kiss really mean?", BBC News, BBC, retrieved June 12, 2017
  14. ↑ Coffey, Michelle (May 14, 2016), "A mural of Trump kissing Putin on the lips is being shared everywhere", Market Watch, retrieved June 12, 2017
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