CAHUN YOUR ENTHUSIASM (25)
By:
March 30, 2026
One in a series of enthusiastic posts, contributed by 25 HILOBROW friends and regulars, analyzing and celebrating our favorite… anti-fascist art! Series edited by Josh Glenn.
CARNATION AGITPROP
The possibilities of the cultural system of paint are fascinating.
Writing, spraying, graffiti, pouring paint, drawing, splattering letters on a giant wall or on a poster or sheet of paper all make up a system. While black and white aligned on a page serve to legitimise, the huge letters on walls are loud and rebellious. New developments are referred to as ‘fresh ink’ and the ignorant are considered ‘out of the picture’. The domain of ink is vast and productive.
I really like this photograph by Jean-Paul Miroglio where ‘children of April’ (an expression used to refer to children born in the 1970s in Portugal) celebrate the Portugal of that time, revolutionary, anti-capitalist and following a different kind of socialism, never before experienced. I particularly like the huge letters pinned to the wall that shout ‘Libertação’ (Liberation). I was also a child of April, and I remember being amazed by the power and size of the murals next to my elementary school.
The Carnation Revolution (also known as April 25th) was a celebration of refusal. It rejected the blue pencil of censorship by Portugal’s Estado Novo fascist regime with huge murals unfurling the flags of collectivism, humanism, modesty and a relentless pursuit of social justice.
Jean Paul Miroglio captured it in 1974–75. Fifty years later, protests everywhere still convey within the paint system. “Greenwashing” is censured and politicians, famous paintings, company headquarters and politicians are hit with buckets of paint.
Let us not forget, the possibilities of a bucket of paint are fascinating.
CAHUN YOUR ENTHUSIASM: INTRODUCTION by Josh Glenn | Mark Kingwell on ONCE UPON A HONEYMOON | Lynn Peril on ZAZOUS | Judith Zissman on DIE GEDANKEN SIND FREI | Annie Nocenti on MEDIUM COOL | Mike Watt on FASCIST | William Nericcio on LALO ALCARAZ | Josh Glenn on THE LADY VANISHES | Carlo Rotella on INQUIETUD | Heather Quinlan on CASABLANCA | Adam McGovern on HEART OF GLASS (MAD JENNY) | Matthew Battles on WOODY’S GUITAR | Carl Wilson on PALACES OF GOLD | Ramona Lyons on UPRIGHT WOMEN WANTED | Lucy Sante on CAMOUFLAGE | Adelina Vaca on THE LIVES OF OTHERS | Tom Nealon on THE BARON IN THE TREES | Nikhil Singh on PARIS PEASANT | Mandy Keifetz on THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED | Gordon Dahlquist on THE CONFORMIST | Michael Grasso on PYNCHONIAN RESISTANCE | Gabriela Pedranti on THE ETERNAUT | Heather Kapplow on ANTI-FASCIST PASTA | Marc Weidenbaum on (WHAT’S SO FUNNY ’BOUT) PEACE, LOVE, AND UNDERSTANDING | Peggy Nelson on PUPPETS | Sonia Marques on CARNATIONS AGITPROP.
JACK KIRBY PANELS | CAPTAIN KIRK SCENES | OLD-SCHOOL HIP HOP | TYPEFACES | NEW WAVE | SQUADS | PUNK | NEO-NOIR MOVIES | COMICS | SCI-FI MOVIES | SIDEKICKS | CARTOONS | TV DEATHS | COUNTRY | PROTO-PUNK | METAL | & more enthusiasms!