# Controversial Street Art Blu's Street Art Makes Strong Political Statements By Pearl | Published 2011-01-01 | Art & Design Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/controversial-street-art References: [unurth](http://unurth.com/index/filter/Blu) & [blublu.org](http://blublu.org/sito/updates/updates.htm) Blu, a secretive Italian, is famous for his amazing [murals and graffiti](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/el-muro) the world over. His distinctive comic book style sometimes deliver caustic messages against big corporations like the oil companies. One of his controversial street art creations is the smoking politicians mural, which was intended as a protest against political inaction towards pollution in Southern Italy. Blu’s latest LA commission by the [Museum of Contemporary Art](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/enigmatic-graffiti) is a controversial [street art design](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/piranha-tank) twice over. His initial anti-war design for the project featured dollar bills covering military coffins, making quite the political statement. However, the Museum decided soon after to erase this piece of work. Blu has declined the offer to repaint because he considers this action as “mural censorship." ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 5.6/10 - Popularity: 60% | Activity: 99% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America, Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Art & Design](https://www.trendhunter.com/artdesign) > [Graffiti](https://www.trendhunter.com/graffiti) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Street Art:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Exploring new digital mediums and augmented reality for interactive street art experiences. - **Political Activism:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Leveraging blockchain technology for transparent and decentralized political movements. - **Artistic Protest:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Using virtual reality to create immersive and impactful artistic protests without physical limitations. ### Who This Affects Most - **Art & Design:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Developing AI-powered platforms that connect artists to global audiences, revolutionizing the art market. - **Technology:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Building AI-driven platforms that identify and amplify grassroots movements for social and political change. - **Entertainment:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Incorporating street art into immersive experiences through virtual reality and augmented reality technologies. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Tree-Integrated Mysterious Art](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tree-mural.md) - [Pollution-Removing Murals](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/this-campaign-sucks.md) - [Street Art Metaverses](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/frieze-los-angeles.md) - [Statement Street Art](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/surreal-street-art-1.md) - [Whiskey-Themed Street Art](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/upfest.md) - [Bubblegum Street Art Buildings](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/hubbabubbabuilding.md) - [Street Artist Digitalized Exhibitions](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/shepard-fairey-1.md) - [Enigmatic Graffiti Incidents](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/enigmatic-graffiti.md) - [Art-Promoting Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/beige-billboards.md)