NSFW: Philly Street Artist Installs A Jarring Portrait of Harvey Weinstein, One Year After the News of His Abuse Ignited #MeToo

Damn, this is a lot…

A gigantic, 8 foot wheatpaste of a nude Harvey Weinstein that depicts his penis severed has just popped up at Hope street and Cecil B. Moore avenue on the boarder of Fishtown and Kensington today.

It was one year ago this month that The New York Times and The New Yorker reported the accounts of dozens of women accusing Harvey Weinstein of rape, sexual assault, and sexual abuse. That report, as we all know, worked to ignite the #MeToo Movement. I do not know who the artist of this wheatpaste is, but I have to assume that that date is at least part of the reason why this piece was created and installed now.

I found out about the installation via a text from a friend this morning, who told me that she saw it on her walk to work, mentioning how disturbing it was to run into. It lead us into a conversation thinking about the artist’s intent as well as how it will be interpreted by passersby, particularly those who’ve experienced assault and/or sexual harassment.

It is, of course, a jarring image. The scale is impressive, I rarely see wheatpastes in Philly larger than human scale. And it’s well done, the face is a spitting image of Harvey Weinstein. Clearly it’s been created by talented hands… I’m not sure, however, how I personally feel about it depicting violence, or about depicting an abuser, and having that in a space where people can’t choose to see it or not. But, I’m only one person, I’d be really curious to hear what y’all think of this installation in the comments.

If you’re the artist, I’d love to hear more for your intent with this piece, if you’d like to share please feel free to email me.