This morning around 9:30am I was traveling on the MAX reading a book and I saw bright red from the corner of my eye. I looked up to see bright red paint splattered across a building like blood. Then I noticed it was Nicholas Ungar Furs. So I got off the train to get some photos and info for this article. The entrance, the sidewalk, the windows, and the sign on the front of the building were significantly splattered. The Police arrived very shortly after I did leading me to believe that perhaps this just happened last night. I was not able to get the photos off of my camera but others will hopefully post some soon.
As of this posting I have not seen a communiqué from this anonymous guerrilla artist so I will attempt to piece together an understanding of why such an action has been taken. Ungar Furs, the last remaining furrier shop in downtown Portland located on 1137 SW Yamhill, has been targeted many times by local animal rights advocates. As the name implies they are a furrier shop and a particularly nasty one. They have even been busted by Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife for illegal sales of pelts from endangered/banned species. The profits apparently make the fines look like an acceptable loss. A group recently formed out of the momentum from the Schumacher victory, Portland Animal Defense League, has been organizing an ongoing campaign since Dec of 2008 currently happening every Friday at 1pm to educate fur shoppers on the brutality of the process of taking fur from animals (Including: inhumane living conditions, anal electrocution, gas, neck breaking, skinning alive, etc.). Today's anonymous guerrilla art action appears to be in solidarity with that campaign but not part of it because it deviates from the stated mission and tactics of the Friday protesters found here.
Hopefully someone more directly involved could provide a statement in the "contribution" section below. A communiqué from the artist or artist representative would be cool too.
