‘I Want to Interrupt Your Commute, Your Online Feed, Your Scroll’: Jonathan Allen on Those Whitney Posters

“The Israeli Security Forces Have Deliberately Targeted and Killed Palestinian Children” and “If You Can’t Draw the Line at Genocide, You Probably Can’t Draw the Line at Democracy” read electronic displays outside the Whitney Museum of American Art in early July, thanks to New York artist Jonathan Allen.

The installation, which Allen put in place overnight on 2 July, was aimed at drawing attention to a United Nations report released on 18 June, which concluded that Israeli security forces have done serious physical and psychological harm to Palestinian children in Gaza since 7 October 2023. Although the Whitney quickly removed Allen’s posters, they will still be seen: a joint Instagram post by the artist and Belgium-based cultural platform Eye on Palestine has so far received almost 11,000 likes. 

Allen told independent Jewish news outlet Forward that he thinks it is for important artists to “take risks and use private property and unconventional spaces towards political and social ends” and that “bringing attention to this sort of issue in that context was important”.

The work, which is made from self-adhesive vinyl and is intended to be easily removed, is the latest addition to Allen’s 400-strong Interruptions series. The artist began these public interventions in 2019, by covering advertisement boards on the streets and in the subway with paper posters containing anti-Trump messaging—an early example shows the president’s face superimposed on that of Gru in an advert for Despicable Me 3.

“The project was birthed during Trump’s first term,” Allen told Ocula, “in response to the United States’ embrace of racist, reactionary right-wing politics.”

However, his campaign has evolved to match urban technology—Allen now targets electronic advertising and subway monitors.

“It’s important to me that the project evolve[s] to changing circumstances,” he said. “For example, the first 200 Interruptions were collaged interventions on paper—I then shifted to working on digital ad displays, in response to the changing advertising landscape of New York City. Most recently, it feels important to work outdoors, in more public open spaces, to amplify the messaging.”

Allen, a scenic painter in the entertainment industry, explained the materials, planning and research involved in the creation of his Interruptions.

“I vary the times that I install to avoid law enforcement/security, depending on the situation/circumstances,” he said. “I’m constantly reading and researching, which informs my selection of quotes. I source all the text and quotations from others, and do not write these messages myself.”

The artist explained that he installed the Whitney posters “late in the evening” on 2 July. “I had no interaction with the museum,” he said. 

A Whitney spokesperson told Hyperallergic that the museum was notified of an incident of vandalism on Friday 3 July. “The unauthorised material was removed in a timely manner. The Museum maintains a zero-tolerance policy for vandalism, harassment, discrimination, or bias of any kind,” the spokesperson said.

In past “interruptions” Allen has focused on other conflicts. A work installed outside Brooklyn Public Library earlier this month read: “The Average US Household Has Spent $450 More On Gas & Energy Since Trump Attacked Iran”.

Asked whether he would revisit the original focus of his campaign—Donald Trump—given the president’s recent comments regarding the resumption of hostilities between the US and Iran, Allen said: “As expected, our president has proven an embarrassing, volatile statesman and I will absolutely be responding to the plight he’s put the US—and the world—in.”

“The title of the project says it all,” he added. “I want to interrupt your commute, your online feed, your scroll—with messaging and information that speaks to today—and what we are facing.”