Trumpitecture – According to Swiss-Icelandic artist Christof Büchel, the US-Mexico border wall prototypes built near San Diego, California, should be preserved from demolition as a work of land art. The designs should be protected as a US National Monument to remind their political and historical relevance, just like the Berlin Wall or Stonehenge. Büchel is the lead organizer of the MAGA art group a non-profit project whose name takes a play on Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan.

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“My political position, is not interesting in this context.” Explained Büchel to the New York Times. Even if the border wall is never built, the 30-feet tall prototypes – which already costed $3.3 millions, Editor’s note – “need to be preserved because they can signify and change meaning through time. They can remind people there was such idea to have this border wall once.”

In March 2017, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued two Requests for Proposals to acquire conceptual wall designs with the intent to construct multiple prototypes. The walls are part of a multi-pronged security strategy aiming to prevent the illegal migration of people, drugs, and human trafficking from Mexico.

Eight shortlisted prototypes were built near San Diego to be tested against breaching, digging and scaling attempts. Four are made of reinforced concrete, and another four incorporate additional construction materials. The winning design will supposely span across the 2,000-mile-long South-West border.

“I am an artist, but not the artist of this,” said Mr. Büchel to the NYT. The non-profit art group MAGA highlights the concept that, by electing Trump, Americans allowed his obsessions to be given form. The prototypes are a political, architectural and artistic statement of the president and his supporters. “This is a collective sculpture; people elected this artist,” added Büchel.

• To attend a tour of the prototypes click HERE.
• To sign the petition to designate the eight border wall prototypes a national monument, to preserve and protect them from demolition, click HERE.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Ronald D. Vitiello visits the Border Wall Construction Site near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry as eight different prototypes of the Border Wall were unveiled at the U.S. border with Mexico.
Photos Courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection – Taken by Yesica Uvina.