Barbara Kruger's monumental text-based mural "Untitled (Questions)" (1990/2018) at the Geffen Contemporary in Los Angeles has become a backdrop for National Guard deployments during protests against ICE raids. Originally commissioned by MOCA in 1989, the 191-foot-long work asks "WHO IS BEYOND THE LAW?" and has been photographed twice with armed soldiers beneath it—first in 1992 during the Rodney King protests, and again this week as President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to quell demonstrations against immigration enforcement. Photographer Jay L. Clendenin captured the latest image, showing a calm scene that belies nearby unrest.
This matters because Kruger's work, which she has repeatedly revised in a series she calls "replays," demonstrates how art can remain urgently relevant across decades, exposing persistent power dynamics and legal contradictions. The mural's recurring question gains new resonance amid debates over presidential immunity (following a Supreme Court ruling that former presidents have legal immunity for official acts) and the authority of agencies like ICE and the National Guard. Kruger's practice of returning to past works highlights how systemic issues of control and justice repeat, making her art a touchstone for activists and a commentary on the cyclical nature of political crises.