Thanks to California artist Karen Fiorito, motorists driving on Phoenix’s Grand Avenue can see a massive billboard with nuclear mushroom cloud clown faces and dollar sign swastikas hovering over President Donald Trump.
“I think a lot of people are feeling this way and I’m just trying to express what I think is on a lot of people’s minds these days,” Fiorito told 12 News. “Something that really concerned us was this idea of a dictatorship where things were going in a certain direction.”
The controversial billboard went up Friday as part of the annual three-day Art Detour event in downtown Phoenix.
The billboard’s owner, Beatrice Moore, who also commissioned the display, said the banner imagery would remain up as long as Trump is in office.
“Some of these issues are so important you can’t not speak out,” Moore told 12 News.
Fiorito has a history of creating artwork critical of Republican presidents.
In 2004, she created a billboard with President George W. Bush and senior government officials.
“Dear America,” the billboard said, “we lied to you for your own good. Now trust us.”
Moore and Fiorito said they anticipate harsh criticism for the Trump billboard.
“I just hope that everyone involved in helping bring this message out is safe and that we all get through this unharmed,” Fiorito said.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @JeromeEHudson.