What is street art? In reality, I have been using the term as a politically-correct substitute so-to-speak for the graffiti which I have seen on the walls of buildings in Cairo.
I came across true street art-- art painted on the pavement-- for the first time on the night of the 18 November demonstrations. It was located on Qasr Al-Aini street, leading into Midan Tahrir.
The street art depicts the Statue of Liberty.
Translation: "Who is covered with America is naked."
As I write this post on Sunday 20 November, this street art is no longer visible. I can't imagine that it was deliberately erased, but rather it wore away under the pounding of running feet and falling stones. While the Midan itself is relatively calm right now (the actual fighting is limited to the surrounding areas, near the Ministry of Interior), a battle for Midan Tahrir took place last night. Demonstrators and security forces fought for control of the Midan, with each side occupying the Midan at different points throughout the night.
(This article provides a minute-by-minute break down of the events, but stops at 9pm. The best source of up-to-date news is Twitter--http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/0/26969/Egypt/0/Live-Updates-Egypts-police-forcibly-disperses-prot.aspx)
Was it the boots of a retreating soldier that buffed out the paint? Or the resilient return of a demonstrator? Either way, the art is gone. As the death toll rises from the sustained fighting, is my educated guess that this street art is just another victim of that fighting.
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But if the fighting destroyed street art, could it also create it? I passed this street (next to the AUC campus) on Saturday afternoon and saw only a few stray stones. When I passed the street this morning, however, it was covered in a thick layer of stones.
It's not pre-deposed graffiti, but it was on the streets on Cairo and it tells a story.
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