Six hours before AP called the US presidential election for Donald Trump, the Dutch artist Frank de Ruwe—who goes by the name Frankey – was in New York’s Times Square, working to sow unity among American voters.
At 11:00 pm on election night, Frankey stood amid the midtown mayhem of busy media reporters, wandering tourists, hawkers trying to sell those tourists the New York Experience, and the sensory overload of flickering neon billboards.
He was dressed in an eight-foot, seven-inch-tall teddy bear costume, its fuzzy surface divided vertically between blue and red. The head of the red side bore Kamala Harris’ face, and the blue side, Trump’s.
The mismatched colors suggested that each half was saying to the other “I’m willing to listen to your side, too.”
The plushie wore an inviting button that read, “Hug for Unity.”
One of the people who happily complied was Catherine Rao, who was in town from Connecticut.
“It would be nice if this country was a little bit more like that, in terms of unity,” she told me. ‘Hugs for Unity’– clearly that’s not what this country is about right now.”
The huggable performance art venture is a departure from Frankey’s usual work. Typically, Frankey scatters whimsical, witty street art around Amsterdam. But in the United States, clad in the oversized plush, arms open wide, Frankey spent the final stretch of the election travelling from swing states to the capital to New York, inviting everyone to embrace his cuddly embodiment of unity.
By the time he reached Times Square, he had already travelled to a Harris rally in Atlanta and a Trump rally in Kinston, North Carolina. All suited up, he then went to Pennsylvania and Washington D.C.
He deplores the polarization he sees in America: two sides that get riled up against one another with increasing vitriol.
“At the end of the day, no matter who wins,” he said, “you have to continue with the Republicans, and you have to continue with the Democrats. So, your approach should be: How are we going to do it together? I understand that becomes difficult when one party has to win, but just blaming one another doesn’t get you anywhere.”
Frankey wanted to open the way to mutual compassion among Americans who seem increasingly closed off to each other.
“I figured the best way to achieve that is by starting out with a hug,” he said. “A hug, after all, is a thing of joy. And if you’re gonna go there, then go there with a real big teddy bear.”
The street artist considers his action a mere speck of positivity in a sea of division, but “sometimes a droplet is all it takes to make a wave. If more people would do this, perhaps we’d have a little more fun in all of this.”
Going into political battlegrounds to offer non-partisan hugs is not a farfetched idea. Studies have shown that hugging something—anything—lowers stress levels and even eases anxiety. Not only that, it is scientifically shown that teddy bears do not provide only children with a sense of safety. Holding on to a stuffed animal provides comfort to anyone, regardless of age.
When you consider that about 70% of Americans experiences election-induced stress, showing up to a political rally dressed up as a larger-than-life teddy bear might go a long way toward alleviating voters’ political tensions, one embrace at a time.
Nobody could argue with Frankey’s fuzzy appearance. He looked downright silly, with arms way too big for his body, ready to wrap both his red and his blue one around anyone, his big head always sticking out. At the rallies in Kinston and Atlanta, the bear, dancing to the music playing over the speakers, drew hugs easily. Frankey mused that if he approaches people with positive zeal, it’s bound to be reciprocated.
The artist was certain that his attendance improved the vibe at both rallies.
“Of course, there’s a handful of people that said, ‘Oh we don’t want to hug Harris,’” he told me, referring to the Trump event in Kinston. “But that was an absolute minority. Even at a rally as passionate as this one, where I saw some real passionate people, I found the majority truly wants to be united.”
He hugged hundreds of people, each one willing to embrace both sides.
“I probably gave even more hugs at the Harris rally,” he added, “because the event was just much busier. I must have given about a thousand hugs!”
After hugging his way through two battleground states, and two opposing political rallies, he found that across party lines, people all crave a sense of unity.
“I am actually quite surprised that so many people do want to unite,” he said. “They all find it important. Of course, they all want to do so with their own party and their own leader, but the people agree that, yes, we do have to move ahead with this country.”
On Tuesday night, the feeling at Times Square reflected that sentiment.
A crowd quickly formed around the big plushie, everybody eagerly awaiting a squeeze and, while they were at it, a photo. A couple at the scene, Lela and John (who did not offer their last names), from Texas, happily engaged with Frankey.
“It’s a spectacle,” John said, “but it’s fun. I feel like everyone’s been really stressed about how tonight’s gonna go.”
The consensus, however, was clear: everybody around Frankey had a broad smile on their face.
Lolita Vernon, who was visiting New York from Ohio, was all on board.
“I think this is amazing,” she said, “because everybody needs a hug!”
Before returning to Amsterdam, Frankey is staying in New York, doing what he knows best: placing unexpected street art around the city.
Generally, he refrains from being overtly political in his art. The teddy bear campaign did not represent a departure from his creed.
“I don’t support any party with this,” he said. “I support a movement. And my movement is positivity.”
About the author(s)
Noëlle de Leeuw
Noëlle de Leeuw is a writer with bylines in The New York Times, ELLE, The Washington Post, and Food52. Originally from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, she is currently based in New York, pursuing her MA at Columbia Journalism School.