Is it art, protest, vandalism or all of the above?

A number of metal cutouts resembling the Army's Stryker vehicle that have been glued down in public places have officials, passers-by and police asking that question.

The 6-inch galvanized steel cutouts, whose outline is that of the armored vehicles, have appeared at Hale'iwa Beach Park, Shark's Cove, in front of the First Hawaiian Bank building, at the statue of Kamehameha the Great, in front of The Honolulu Advertiser building and, most likely, in several other places.

It turns out the cryptic displays, which carry no explanation and feature only a small number stamped on each, are no mystery.

Mat Kubo, an artist whose project is featured in "Hot August Knights" at The Arts at Marks Garage on Nu'uanu Street, came up with the idea.

Kubo could not be reached for comment yesterday, but in an earlier interview with The Advertiser he said he is gluing 319 of the cutouts — the number of Strykers coming to O'ahu — in places where people congregate "to give the notion that there is this other presence here."

In the interview, Kubo said 25 percent of O'ahu is "off-limits military base," and that figure is growing because of the Stryker vehicles.
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Kubo calls his project "Miniature Monuments to Empire." In the previous interview, Kubo said some feel the Strykers are invasive, but individuals also may feel protected by them, and he wanted to "create some dialogue around the subject."