Arizona’s SB 1070 Protest Art
We Are Human by Francisco Garcia
On the morning of April 23, 2010, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070 into law. Later that day, an artist named Nomas threw 10 posters and a few spray cans into his bag, grabbed a bucket of paste, and jumped on his bike.
A few hours later, images of Sheriff Joe Arpaio in a military uniform with a swastika on his forehead and stenciled Hitlers saluting “SB 1070” were pasted and painted on public walls, light poles, and the backs of street signs in downtown Phoenix.
Lalo Cota’s “Invasion!” installation at The Hive
The artist doesn’t go by his real name — most of his work is illegal by city standards, and it’s usually scratched off or painted over within a couple of days.
“I had this weird feeling,” Nomas says from behind dark glasses, sitting at Lux, a Central Phoenix coffee bar. “I had to voice my outrage. It wasn’t a choice.”
While thousands crowded the downtown streets to march against legislation designed to send undocumented Mexicans home, Nomas’ images joined the growing sensory (and often censored) responses to border issues and immigration legislation across the United States.
Diane Ovalle: Scene from an anti-SB 1070 march
