October 4, 2017
“THE WAR KISS”
by HA Crew
110 years ago Viennese artist Gustav Klimt’s most famous work was purchased by the Belvedere Museum even before the finishing touches were made—shattering the record for an Austrian painting, but at the equivalent of $250,000 today it was a bargain. In September, 2017 Chilean artists HA Crew were in Southern California thanks to the support of Artists In Residence, and spent almost a week painting this reinterpretation of “The Kiss” on 7th Street in Long Beach. Seemingly an innocuous homage, the piece demands a closer look. With the woman now bearing traces of the “calaca,” representing death, the protagonists become Man and War, and Klimt’s elaborate robes now bear bullets and bombs—creating a powerful commentary on “how man embraces and kisses what he really claims to hate.” @hacru @streetartistinresidence
