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Trump 'Pee On Me' Statuettes Spotted On Brooklyn Sidewalks
By
Jen Carlson
Published Oct 9, 2018
Modified Oct 9, 2018
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Courtesy of Phil Gable
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Oct 9, 2018
Modified Oct 9, 2018
Share
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When they go low, we go high lower, apparently.
This statuette of Donald Trump (looking more like the 1980s version of himself than current day) was spotted in Park Slope on Friday evening, near the intersection of Union and 7th. The installation encouraged dogs (and humans?) to urinate on the bust of Trump, which was placed atop some astroturf.
The "pee on me" sign also included a plug for its maker, a brand content studio called Porcupine Armadillo, so we reached out to the creator, Phil Gable, who told us more about it. What inspired him? Aside from promoting his company ("the kind of people who appreciate this sort of thing are also the kind of people I love to work with"), Gable told us:
It was partly a public service. As a dog owner, I know people get understandably annoyed when dogs pee on their flower beds. But a dog’s instinct to pee where another dog has previously peed is quite strong. They need positive places to pee. If you reward them enough for peeing in appropriate places, that’s the best way to keep them from peeing in places that annoy people. So I sprayed the whole thing down with a dog potty-training aid to make it attractive to initial users. I think we’ll have critical mass very soon.
Spotted Friday by a tipster in Park Slope
Gable also went into detail about how this was a cathartic creation for him.
And it was largely just a personal expression of my own disdain for Donald Trump, both as a President and a human being. I find it cathartic anytime I can express disdain through comedy, especially if it’s related to politics. And this case, it's both funny and useful, which makes me happy. I know this isn’t a grand gesture of protest. He’s not going to hear about dogs peeing on a tiny statue of him and just say “That’s it. Now, I’m stepping down.” But everybody has their own way of dealing with things. For some it’s marching. For me, it’s humor and satire. Sometimes it’s a video, sometimes it’s on stage, and this time it happened to be a weird little art project. And I felt like this week was a particularly disturbing one in the ongoing shit show that is the 45th Presidency, so it seemed like a good time to find a new, funny way to express the disgust that so many of us feel.
While I was setting it up, one woman came by with her two daughters. They really liked it—they took pictures with it, and she thanked me and said “This is the kind of thing that makes me love Brooklyn.” And being near people who appreciate this kind of thing on that kind of level makes me feel a little more hopeful.
Will these little statuettes of hope be coming to a sidewalk near you? The one spotted on 7th and Union Friday had been the only version (it was gone within a few hours, since it was not secured to the sidewalk), but Gable told us this week that he has made more (and sent along the above photos). "I wanted to see how people reacted, and the reaction has been really great so far—I mean really great, probably some of the greatest reactions anyone has ever had to anything, ever."
Gable was back out last night with a batch of fresh busts, and plans to "make another fresh batch soon." The new ones are "physically secured in place."
And they'll all be the more youthful Trump you see here. "I went with the younger-looking Trump because I think that's probably how he sees himself, especially when he's paying Russian escorts for golden showers..."
Anyway, please remember to vote in November.
Tagged
brooklyn
donald trump
park slope
phil gable
statue
statuette
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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