John Nack:

I’ve been running across examples of illustration designed to shake things up & reflect on the world, for better & for worse:

• [Note: Not for those offended by profanity] Paul Krassner’s 1963 “F Communism” bumper sticker is a an incredibly efficient little satire of politics and obscenity. Check out Kurt Vonnegut’s commentary on the work for historical context.
• On war & walls:
  The NYT features a piece on Baghdad muralists hired to beautify, or at least adorn, the city’s grim anti-suicide-bomber blast walls. “With few opportunities for work, [the artists] are delighted with the money, but are also uncomfortably aware that all they can do is paint the symptoms of a conflict that has mired their city in death squads…”
  Elsewhere in the region, elusive British street artist Banksy has decorated Israeli’s security wall.

• Back in this part of the world, online company Brickfish kicked off a contest to “Design your own border fence” for the US-Mexico frontier.