On Poor Kings Graffiti in Newark, New Jersey: “2 + 2 = 3 Here”
I don’t know who he is, but I admire him quite a bit.
There is a graffiti artist in Newark, rumored to be a man in his 30’s or 40’s. Many elements of the story of who he is and what his work represents remain mysterious.
Yet I believe this much is clear: the creator of the “Poor Kings” graffiti in Newark is not only an extremely sharp and creative artist, but also a brilliant social commentator.
The photos below provide just a sampling of the work of an anonymous urban artist who is helping to express the frustrations being felt and injustices being endured by the average resident of this great American city.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Poor Kings…
258. Central Ward — Newark, NJ. A sad face adorning a crowd. This is the omnipresent and telltale symbol of Poor Kings work throughout Newark.
259. Central Ward — Newark, NJ. Many of the crowned, melancholy faces are accompanied by a slogan.
260. Central Ward — Newark, NJ.
261. Central Ward — Newark, NJ.
262. South Ward — Newark, NJ. Many of the slogan pieces express challenges being faced by the city’s abnormally high level of impoverished residents.
263. West Ward — Newark, NJ. US Census data shows that at least 1/4th and probably closer to 1/3rd of all Newark residents live below the poverty line.
264. South Ward — Newark, NJ.
265. Central Ward — Newark, NJ.
266. South Ward — Newark, NJ. Concise, two-part piece indicting the American criminal justice system. “No money…
267. South Ward — Newark, NJ. “…you guilty.”
268. South Ward — Newark, NJ. On one of Newark’s countless vacant homes.
269. South Ward — Newark, NJ. Occasionally, Poor Kings graffiti does appear without the crowned sad face.
270. West Ward — Newark, NJ. Some of the text pieces are rather cryptic. I actually have no idea what this means. If anyone else does, please do leave a comment.
271. Central Ward — Newark, NJ. If you understand the reference, please explain.
272. South Ward — Newark, NJ. “Eucalyptus, Spin Moves & Brass Feet.” Again, if this makes sense to you, please enlighten us.
273. South Ward — Newark, NJ. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure I know where this one is going…
274. South Ward — Newark, NJ. In 1831, a man named Nat Turner led a slave rebellion in Virgina that resulted in the deaths of over a hundred people, black and white. I was not able to find a credible explanation online with respect to exactly what Nat “King” Turner is a reference to. Whatever the case may be, Poor Kings has marked the following door as such:
275. South Ward — Newark, NJ. One out of every 100 Americans is in jail right now. Our nation imprisons more of its citizens than any nation on earth, including China. While I can’t say with absolute certainty, my guess here is that the Poor Kings artist is making a commentary on the wildly profitable prison-industrial-complex our nation has come to embrace. “The Iron System.”
276. West Ward — Newark, NJ. This is the only artistic aberration of the Poor Kings logo that I’ve found. This particular piece lies in between the graffiti of two of Newark’s largest gangs, the 793 Bloods and Brick City Brims. (For the whole wall, see photo #132 in Gunplay.)
277. South Ward — Newark, NJ. Simple and profound representation of a trauma experienced by an entire city. 1967: The Newark Riots. 26 dead, hundreds injured, thousands more psychologically imbedded with mistrust and bitterness that still seems palpable today.
278. West Ward — Newark, NJ. A rainy winter night’s view of another Poor Kings 1967 piece.
279. West Ward — Newark, NJ. But of course, if we are going to have the historical injustices and traumatic events conversation, we’re better suited starting here.
280. South Ward — Newark, NJ. The message in this one is my personal favorite. With trademark pithy text, the artist here encapsulates the skewed and confusing context in which residents of America’s forgotten socio-economic classes find themselves having to make decisions. Looking from the outside in, the actions and lifestyles of those in communities in which you do not live are often painfully easy to judge and denounce. Yet the next time you find your brain going there, take a moment to consider the fact that unlike most residents of Newark, you simply may never have had the experience of living in a place where 2 + 2 did, in fact, equal 3.
For more, visit:
- https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US3451000-newark-nj/
- https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/nat-turner
- https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/01/16/percent-incarcerated/
- https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/newark-riot-1967/
— — — — — — — — — —
This photo-essay was originally posted in August of 2013 on Both Halves of the Glass.
Original title: 2+2=3 Here
