Patrick Range McDonaldIn 2008, there was the iconic Obama “Hope” poster by L.A. street artist Shepard Fairey.
Three years later, there's the “Vote Mito” stickers (as translated into English) by an unknown, apparently Russian-speaking artist.
That person has plastered them up and down Santa Monica Boulevard on the east side of West Hollywood in support of City Council Candidate Mito Aviles. That's between Fairfax and La Brea avenues, folks.
Mito Aviles, who was recently featured on the cover of L.A. Weekly, is a challenging candidate in today's hotly contested West Hollywood City Council election.
Aviles says he has nothing to do with the stickers and only started seeing them today.
We don't know what exactly inspired the “Vote Mito” sticker, which is obviously inspired by Andy Warhol's 1963 “Elvis” paintings. But clearly the unknown artist isn't a fan of longtime incumbents John Heilman and Abbe Land and appointed council member Lindsey Horvath, who Aviles and five other challengers are trying to unseat today.
On the window of one Russian deli on Santa Monica Boulevard, the street artist smacked a “Vote Mito” sticker over a Heilman, Land, and Horvath campaign poster.
Aviles and a crew of volunteers, in the meantime, have been walking the streets of West Hollywood, reminding voters that the polls close today at 8 p.m.
For WeHo City Council election news, go to this post, which is regularly updated.
Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.
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