wildest

Just in time for next week’s midterms, Brooklyn-based artist Phil Buehler has unveiled another one of his series of public art installations critiquing modern politics on a stretch of chain link fence between a coffee shop and a bar in Bushwick. The 50-foot-long, 10-foot-high piece, “Wall of Crazy,” features 1,516 of President Trump’s social media posts — selected from more than 70,000 — and arranged chronologically, with color-coded statement categories aligning with the American Psychiatric Assn.‘s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition.

These include: social-emotional incongruity (“Happy Thanksgiving to all including the racist and incompetent Attorney General of New York State”); divine favor/ magical thinking (an AI photo of Trump seated beside Jesus Christ in court); catastrophizing (“This miscarriage of justice will destroy America if they don’t change their absolutely insane decision”); contradictions and reversals (a 2019 post calling Atty. Gen. Bill Barr “fair and reasonable” vs. a 2023 post calling him “dumb, weak, slow moving, lethargic, gutless and lazy”); hostility, humiliation and threats (calling Tucker Carlson a “very low IQ individual. He could barely get out of college and maybe he didn’t.”); grandiosity (“I am far healthier than Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden, but especially, Kamala”); extraordinary and implausible claims (“The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran at levels of military strength and power not seen since World War II”); persecution and victimhood (“Only 25 percent want the president impeached, which is pretty low considering the volume of fake news coverage, but pretty high considering the fact that I did nothing wrong”); and conspiracy thinking (“Wayne County (Detroit) Michigan is one of the most corrupt voting areas in the United States, if not the world”).

In a recent phone interview, Buehler said he made the wall over a period of months beginning in July, using his day-job background in market research and data analysis and statistics to search for patterns in large amounts of data in order to distill it down to something simple. Buehler’s first foray into making a wall of public art came in 2020 with the “Wall of Lies,” which documented more than 20,000 false or misleading claims made by Trump.

A detail shot of the “Wall of Crazy” by Brooklyn-based artist Phil Buehler, featuring 1,516 of Donald Trump’s social media posts.

(Photo from Phil Buehler)

At that time, he said, he was struck by the massive volume of falsehoods. “I wanted to dramatize that in a way that brought the sheer scale of it to life,” he said, noting that the same objective holds true for the “Wall of Crazy.” People have known that Trump tells lies since the 2020 presidential election, Buehler said, adding that it’s a story that is continuously told and has simply become part of the daily news cycle that people move on from.

“Making something into a public artwork brings it back into that cycle because I think it comes into people’s heads in a different way,” Buehler said. Plus, because it’s sandwiched between a coffee shop and a bar, it gets both the thinking morning crowd and the more raucous and celebratory evening crowd. The piece, which is being presented by the independent community radio station Radio Free Brooklyn, has been up for about two days, but will be officially unveiled during a modest neighborhood ceremony today at noon EDT.

“The scale of it is important,” Buehler said. “By attracting your eye and attention and then allowing you to walk up to it and read … Trump’s posts.”

In photos Buehler shared, people are doing just that. Some pass by quickly, others stay immersed for quite some time.

The “Wall of Crazy” is the fifth such collaboration between Buehler and Radio Free Brooklyn. After the “Wall of Lies” came the “Wall of Liars and Deniers” (2022), “featuring 381 Republican election-denying candidates”; then the “Wall of Shame” (2025), “documenting 1,575 January 6 defendants pardoned by Trump”; and “Wall of Tears” (2026), “memorializing 18,457 children documented killed in Gaza.”

The “Wall of Lies” was extensively vandalized by Proud Boy protesters, but the others have been mostly left alone, Buehler said.

“The Wall of Crazy shows how Buehler and Radio Free Brooklyn use public art to spotlight our political climate. Calling out the inflammatory, incoherent, divisive and obscene rhetoric under this administration is critical to democracy,” said Orie Givens, president of the Radio Free Brooklyn Board, in a news release. “Like earlier walls, it captures our political culture and urges action before Election Day: voters can change the country’s direction. And it shows why we must support free media — especially independent outlets — that expose this administration’s actions and impact nationwide.”

I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt, wishing us all a peaceful and sane midterm election and a Happy Halloween. This is your arts and culture news for the week.

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY

Singer Lila Downs.

(Berenice Bautista / AP Photo)

Lila Downs
The singer blends Mexican tradition with jazz, cumbia, folk and contemporary rhythms in a celebration of Día de Muertos, featuring Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles and songs from Downs’ new album “Cambias mi Mundo.”
8 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Hercules vs. Vampires
LA Opera presents a musical reimagining of Mario Bava’s 1961 cult film “Hercules in the Haunted World,” starring Reg Park and Christopher Lee, with an original score by Patrick Morganelli, conducted by Blair Salter.
8 p.m. Friday-Saturday. United Theater on Broadway, 929 S Broadway, downtown L.A. laopera.org

Kiki Smith
“Untethered Journey,” the artist’s first solo show in L.A. in 30 years, includes historical and recent works.
Opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Friday; exhibit continues through Jan. 23. Jeffrey Deitch, 925 N. Orange Drive. deitch.com

SATURDAY

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Organist Brett Valliant performs the score live with John S. Robertson’s 1920 silent horror film starring John Barrymore.
3 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Día de los Muertos
Forest Lawn celebrates the Mexican holiday at four of its locations, with marigolds, handcrafted Catrina and alebrijes (spirit guide) artworks and brightly colored community ofrendas (altars), plus folklorico dance and mariachi music performances, arts & crafts, face painting, food and refreshments. A free family-friendly event.
Noon-3 p.m. Sunday. Forest Lawn Covina Hills, 21300 Via Verde Drive, Covina, Forest Lawn Cypress, 4471 Lincoln Ave., and Forest Lawn Glendale, 1712 S. Glendale Ave.; 5-8 p.m. Monday. Forest Lawn Cathedral City, 69855 E. Ramon Road. forestlawn.com

Harriet Sansom Harris in “Werewolf by Night.”

(Marvel Studios)

Werewolf by Night & Headless
Michael Giacchino hosts an evening featuring the premiere of “Headless,” a musical by the Academy Award-winning composer and collaborators Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson, based on “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” followed by a live-to-picture screening of his 2022 film “Werewolf by Night,” with Sarah Hicks conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
8 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

SUNDAY

Building Bridges: The Master Chorale in Concert With the National Chorus of Korea
Two world-class choral organizations team up for a cross-cultural program uniting more than 100 singers.
7 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. lamasterchorale.org

Family Fest: Día de los Muertos
A free event featuring activities, festive music, dance and foods.
11 a.m.-2 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

TUESDAY

Singer Lyle Lovett.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Lyle Lovett and His Small Large Band
The four-time Grammy-winning Texan performs his greatest hits.
8 p.m. Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Drive. ccpa.cerritos.gov

WEDNESDAY

Daniel Passer direct “The Farce Awakens: Ferdeau x 2” at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble.

(Odyssey Theatre Ensemble)

The Farce Awakens: Feydeau x 2
Cirque du Soleil clown Daniel Passer directs “Going to Pot” and “Stark Naked,” two one-acts by Georges Feydeau.
Through Jan. 17, 2027. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 South Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com

The Laugh Track
Playwright Wendy MacLeod’s comedy goes behind the scenes of “I Love Lucy,” the groundbreaking 1950s sitcom starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Directed by Brian Shnipper.
Through Nov. 22. International City Theatre, 330 E. Seaside Way, Long Beach. ictlongbeach.org

The SoCal scene

The Endeavour shuttle is on display in launch position at the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center in Exposition Park.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

ICYMI: The best of this week’s L.A. Times arts coverage.

The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center opens next month, and the Arts team put together a great package including an architecture review of the new $450-million addition to the California Science Center; an Endeavour shuttle walk-through with an astronaut; a list of noteworthy artifacts in the museum; a list of exciting interactive experiences; and a fun fast-facts sheet.

In theater news, critic Charles McNulty gave a mixed review to the Latino Theatre Company production of playwright Luis Alfaro’s “Speaking in Tongues,” at the Los Angeles Theatre Center; and issued an indictment of Center Theatre Group’s decision to stage a non-Equity touring production of “The Music Man.” McNulty reserved words of praise for an Antaeus Theatre Company revival of George Bernard Shaw’s “Heartbreak House.”

Artist Barry McGee poses for a portrait at Jeffrey Deitch gallery.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

San Francisco artist Barry McGee is back in L.A. after February’s wild takeover of a 99 Cents Only Store. This time he’s staging a show called “Another Round” at Jeffrey Deitch gallery on Santa Monica Boulevard.

The Times’ Features section ran a piece of commentary about the lack of a true native plant habitat at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, calling it a “missed opportunity.”

Culture news

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins poses in the press room with the award for best revival of a play for “Appropriate” during the 77th Tony Awards.

(Evan Agostini / Invision / AP)

London’s Royal Court Theatre announced that playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ 2025 Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning “Purpose,” directed by Phylicia Rashad, will launch its new season in January, marking the hugely successful Broadway show’s first staging outside of the U.S. (“Purpose” opens at Geffen Playhouse next month.)

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

The desert just keeps on giving — including an upcoming “sandlocked yacht club” in Joshua Tree.