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A New York City street artist who chalks circles on sidewalks has sparked both outrage and fascination with a new series of Charlie Kirk-themed “spots” following the conservative activist’s assassination earlier this month.
Felix Morelo, a Colombian-American artist born in the U.S., is best known for colorful chalk circles labeled with phrases such as “Good Luck Spot” or “Hugging Spot,” along with more controversial iterations like the “Suicide Spot” and the “Israel and Palestine Spot.”
Passersby are invited to interact with the pieces by stepping into the circles — or avoiding them altogether.
Since Kirk’s death, Morelo has been drawing circles marked “Charlie Kirk spot,” prompting mixed responses. Some passersby have defaced the chalk art writing “Nazi” next to his creations, he said, or drawn competing circles of their own, underscoring the country’s broader political polarization.
After the assassination, Morelo said he was disturbed by those who mocked or celebrated the conservative activist’s killing.
“I couldn’t find a reason for somebody to be executed, you know? It’s like, even hardcore criminals get… their due [process],” Morelo told Fox News Digital in Washington Square Park in Manhattan.
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While Morelo doesn’t agree with everything Kirk said, he liked the conservative influencer and even considered reaching out to participate in a debate.
“This is where I was going to try to debate Kirk, but somebody took him away,” Morelo said. “I think it reflects the politics of where we are right now, you know?”
Morelo prefers to let his artwork speak for itself, but he shared some of his inspiration with Fox News Digital.
“I felt like by writing his name over and over, we will keep his message alive. But I also did it out of anger toward those people that were celebrating,” he said.
“But after some time, I realized that – I decided not to judge or feel bad about the people being happy for his death because I realized that I felt the same feelings.”
Morelo described coming to terms with these feelings of hate, an experience which went on to shape the intent behind creating the spots. He wanted to open a dialogue and try to understand the people he viewed as his enemies.
Morelo recounted hateful reactions to his art, including people smudging out and scribbling over his spots.
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He has received vitriolic social media DMs and been approached threateningly on the street, he said. But this social experiment, as he thinks of it, has also taught him something about people.
“I’ve noticed that they spill their hate or whatever they want to say and then they take off,” Morelo said. “And for me, I’m like, OK, you said that but tell me more. Exactly why do you hate this person, and why are you afraid? So it’s been pretty fascinating.”
Still, Morelo himself is afraid at times, but he gives his haters the benefit of the doubt, believing that explosive reactions can come from “any human going through like their good days and bad days, when you’re just pissed off or you didn’t sleep.”
“But I’ve also been approached by people that bless me. I think one of them said that for every one hater that you get, you’re gonna get three people that love you. People hug me, and I feel like they’re getting it,” said Morelo. “It’s like, ‘oh, we’re talking here.’ So, I feel as an artist, I have to be brave and do my work. And just hope for the best.”
He said that he doesn’t have the answers for polarization — but still believes in forgiveness, tolerance and dialogue.
“Take citizens living in New York, or living anywhere. It’s like having roommates, you know? You got to learn how to live with each other,” he said.
He stressed perspective, saying that despite the hostility, he reminds himself that “most people are all right.”
“For the people out there that hate me, I mean, it’s just chalk.”
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