Eddie Colla, a participant in the recent Manifest Equality exhibition out in LA, just posted this videoto Vimeo. In it you will find shots of the show but more importantly, Eddie taking out a slew of illegal NPA ads in LA. I find this to be a wonderful example of proper use of public space. These messaging boards normally run the gamut of terrible corporate ad campaigns as evidenced by the poster for Repo Men, but their potential to be used to promote public concerns is exemplified in Eddie's recent activities. How incredible would it be if these spaces were typically used by the average citizen to express their concerns on pertinent social issues like gay marriage.
Everyone, I'm so sorry I have been slow on the site updates. Things are a bit crazy at PAC with lots of huge upcoming projects. Can't wait to clue everyone in. Until then I have been speaking to Alberto De Pedro in Madrid about outdoor advertising, street art, and finding a way to make a NYSAT project happen on Spanish soil. He is a fantastic artist and I highly suggest looking into his work.
The video below shows one of the actions of the TGLQV? project, which I'm told has had many artists' participation over the years. If I am correct this specific installations was done by NEKO.
We were just made aware of what sounds like a fantastic project run by Jerm IX and Vegas in Vancouver. It's a pretty simple idea, you send them artwork (standard formats) and a team of participants will put up your work in the Vancouver transit system. V-TARP, which stands for Vancouver Transit Ad Re-appropriation Project, "is intended to reclaim that highly sought after mindspace used by corporations to communicate with the public."
Participants are encouraged to send work in the next month to kick start the project with bang, but submissions will be taken indefinitely. I am told works should be 283mm high and any width from 200mm-800mm and should be submitted on 80lb. card stock. A photo document of your installed piece will be posted to a VTARP Flikr page, and once the project is rolling a blog page dedicated to the updates and progress will be rolled out. Any other questions you might have can be answered by a V-TARP participant at this email address. VanTARP@gmail.com.
We are always excited about a large scale work like this. We know it takes an immense coordinating effort and a good deal of risk taking for those carrying out the action. The upside is you can create a much bigger dialogue about who has the right to use public space in this way. While the actions of one person might be seen as that of a vigilante, the actions of many become a protest. because of this I think large scale projects like V-TARP encourage a conversation around the issue of commercial/public use of our shared environment. Questions about how using public space for commercial messaging might affect the public's use of that space become something to talk about, and that can only bring good as far as I am concerned.
We will definitely be sending work to Vancouver and suggest you do the same. They have told me they can handle a large number of submissions and that the project is open to everyone. If you do decide to send something, feel free to give us sneak peaks of your works and tell us when they have gone up in Vancouver.
It seems these days residents are taking back their walls in growing numbers. In the past few weeks we have seen NPA's illegal ads in LA targeted by Eddie Colla, and unidentified residents resulting in the removal of over 20 billboards for public communications. And then there was this pinwheel project by an unknown artist in New York not more than a week ago. And now this recent image comes to us from Unurth with no one to lay praise on. Has the world gone mad or has the public taken its responsibility more seriously? It would seem the latter as NPA's illegal signage is being targeted ferociously. Now if only we would see the city respond to these actions in the appropriate manner and begin the removal of all NPA ad frames, or even better, their conversion to public messaging boards!
A friend and reader in LA, Stefan Kloo, just sent us images of 15 NPA advertisements that were whited out by an unnamed party recently. The last image, which has a "free humanity" stencil sprayed onto the blank billboard makes me think this wasn't the city of LA cracking down, but a public protest of the illegal signage similar to the NYSAT project. If anyone has any info on this matter, please tell us what you know.
The first photo is taken by Luna Park of a Weave It! piece I installed a while back. She contacted me after seeing this recent installation of pinwheels, wondering if it was my work. It is not and I would love to know who is responsible for this wonderful piece.
Looks like one of the artists in the recently opened Manifest Equality exhibition decided NPA's illegal advertising needed better content. Arrested Motion was there to catch all of the action.
"As an added bonus, AM got the opportunity to accompany Manifest Hope/Equality artist Eddie Colla as he blanketed Hollywood with his Anti-Prop 8 propaganda. Check out the full pictorial recap of the show and the streets after the jump."
Oddly, I was not aware of Eddie Colla's work. They explain it like this...
"There is a visual conversation that takes place on the streets of urban environments. This conversation is dominated primarily by advertising and utilitarian signage and assumes passive participation. Whether invited or not I am going to participate in this conversation. Public spaces were never intended to be coated from top to bottom with photos of consumer products. These spaces should, in some manner, reflect the culture that thrives in that space.
Some people view what I do as vandalism. I assume that their objection is that I alter the landscape without permission. Advertising perpetually alters our environment without the permission of it’s inhabitants. The only difference is that advertisers pay for the privilege to do so and I don’t. So if you’re going to call me anything, it is more accurate to call me a thief."
I found this image on my way to the studio today. I'm not positive it is the work of an anonymous artist but the lack of copy and strange subject matter makes me think so. If anyone knows who did this, please get in touch.
Remember the racy video billboard hack in Moscow? Well it appears they have arrested the man responsible for the fantastic stunt. The Moscow Times is reporting that "The incident prompted the Moscow Advertising Committee to ban video billboards on the streets of Moscow." but I can't find any information to corroborate this statement. If anyone finds information that upholds this statement, please send it our way.
The Moscow Times Reports
Police in the southern city of Novorossiisk have arrested a man accused of hacking into a video billboard in Moscow last month and showing a pornographic movie that spawned a traffic jam as curious drivers slowed to watch the film. [More Here]
We were just sent this ad takeover from an anonymous artist in Amsterdam. It is always interesting to see how much of this kind of "illegal" activity is happening around the world and how people are thinking critically about their relationship to commercial messages. Along with these images came a small blurb from the artist which I thought was worth including in this post. The artist is clearly critical of his or her work and understands that beyond getting rid of outdoor advertising, they are demanding a space that is "pro freedom and expression of the people." Thanks again to all those artists taking the time to challenge outdoor advertising's use of the public environment. Keep up the good work and continue to send us your imagery.
Being a graffiti/street artist with an activist background, the stuff that I do in the streets is very varied. But always one of my projects has been hijacking the space in the small billboards behind glass, the so called 'abri's, owned by JCDecaux, at least if they contained posters of commercial companies that want us to buy more stuff. Sometimes I replaced the posters with my own message, sometimes I just alter the poster itself. I attached some images of where I used origami to take the original poster and transform it into something different. It needs a minimum amount of time and materials, and it is great fun. However after some times I left this idea, as it doesn't seem to really work. The image of the abri with an origamied poster in it is just not challenging enough, it doesn't really stand out. I also had trouble thinking in which origami shape I should fold it, eventually I just used a star, being a kind of neutral but recognisable shape. Of course the message is more in folding it than in the specific folded shape, but still every shape I would take would be a bit random. However, still I thought sharing these images with you would be worthwhile. At the moment I am thinking of new ways to change these posters. It is not on a big scale at all but I believe someone needs to do it every once in a while, against commercial ads and pro freedom and expression of the people.
Faith 47 is fast becoming one of my favorite artists world wide. Her incredible dedication to the street, and the people who her work comes in contact with, can be seen in every piece she does. Her use of public space is an inspiration to me and exemplifies what good can come when someone is allowed to create openly in our shared environments. From the intimate moments to the looming murals, her work is dead serious while being uplifting and filed with hope. She recently sent me some images that I would like to share with you in part because they are such wonderfully stark contrasts to the Supergraphics I saw in LA.
Faith 47 told us this mural is 12x18 meters and was create in Johannesburg.
This image is wonderful example of Faith 47's more intimate pieces.
In contrast to Faith 47's work I took all of these images from within a 100 yard vantage point outside of my hotel in West Hollywood LA. The almost carnivalesque nature these messages add to this environment is overwhelming and oppressive. I can only imagine what it might feel like if Faith 47 were allowed access to all these walls and what a different experience this space might be.
According to Unurth this morning, theHow Many Billboards Projecthas begun. Not all of the artworks have been put up but I expect more will follow shortly. We are super excited to see LA begin to consider the role of media in public space and its tendency to obliterate other forms of visual practices. I hope a project like this can spark the imagination of many and allow them to ponder alternative uses of our shared environment. VIA Unurth
Peter Fuss sent us his most recent ad takeover in Gdynia, Poland. Always excited to see more ad takeovers happening around the world, we are happy to see Peter Fuss continuing to take back the streets.
We have known about this book for sometime and have been very excited to see a serious collection of Poster Boy's work in one place. We are especially excited to see all the work that was done while his court case was open and he was unable to post to his Flikr page. The book is available for pre-order and will ship out on March 10th.
"His cut and slash mash-ups of subway platform billboards only exist in New York City, but Poster Boy’s artful and funny appropriations of advertising have gotten him attention the world over. The New York Times dubbed him an “anti-consumerist Zorro with a razor blade, a sense of humor and a talent for collage”; the Guardian UK said of his work, it “is witty, web-savvy and economical . . . and the only materials it requires are chutzpah, imagination and a 50 cent blade.
Poster Boy tweaks corporate copy, replacing it with incisive and playful puns and turns of phrase rich with innuendo and political punch. Beautiful models turn ghastly and iconic spokespeople become the mouthpieces for Poster Boy’s ideas. Poster Boy: The War of Art collects his best work yet."
Our sources in Rome tell us they are pretty positive this piece by Mr. Dimaggio, was put up over a framed advertising location in Milan. The source tells us that normally similar locations to this are used for political campaign posters in Italy. If the spaces are anything like the Affichage Libre in France, they are often co-opted by mainstream commercial ads for private use. In France the Debunkers Collective battles this type of illegal commercial usage monthly.
Sleeping With The Enemy, Well Not Really Sleeping...
Michael Gitter, CEO of Mediacy Inc, the company about to be responsible for 500 street level Gatescapes in New York City, just sent me this image because he "Thought you might find it interesting." Apparently he saw it at Bleeker street while riding the subway. Now me and Michael have had endless arguments about his proposed Gatescape business and I still feel it will be another abusive use of our public space but the guy is growing on me. Don't worry I won't let it cloud my judgment when dealing with his company, after all he is still a sleazy ad pusher as far as we are concerned, but it is interesting to see him "supporting" us in some way. Think what you may about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer, but I don't think that is the case here. You are a funny cat Michael. Thank you for the image.
It doesn't seem like people know when Deuce Seven created this advertising takeover in San Francisco but I could really care less. It's amazing, and his use of the frame is absolutely incredible. It appears this was all done on site which is even more fantastic. We know how dodgy it can be spending anymore time than necessary at an ad takeover location whether it's illegal or not, and for this reason we are blown away by this piece. One can only assume Deuce is a fast painter and a world class sprinter.
As per usual my Monday started with a computer malfunction so this post is gonna be light. As mentioned on the NYSAT microsite Why Donate page, we are starting a very small granting program called Under One Hundred. We will be putting out an official call for submissions, which we will take on an ongoing basis, in the next few weeks. The above project done by Geoff Hargadon in Boston is a wonderful example of something we would consider for Under One Hundred. As of yet Geoff has only installed this ad takeover in Boston and here at PublicAdCampaign we would love to see it come to New York. Look for the first Under One Hundred from I AM and PosterChild in late February.
Philip Lumbang Commision To Be Removed By Los Angeles City
If you follow LA advertising issues, and you should if you enjoy this site, you know how insanely difficult it is to have illegal signage removed even after the city has deemed the advertisement in violation. As it turns out, getting art murals removed is a hell of a lot easier. Artist Philip Lumbang, a recent NYSAT participant, was commissioned to do this mural in a residential area of LA. According to him it is being slated for removal after a single resident complained about it. Now I'm sorry, but something is very very wrong when it takes the city less than a week to remove artwork and over a year to remove huge illegal supergraphics. It makes you want to go out and do what the city can't do for itself, tear these eyesores down with your bare hands. This is all on top of the fact that this mural is actually blocks from a preschool that you can be sure enjoys this neighborhood addition on a daily basis. God help us all when our public space becomes a venue for the sale of commercial items and cannot serve the actual people who live and breath in our cities. Asked to fill us in, the Philip explains the situation like this...
I'm a lil fuzzy on it myself but, I painted that in a residential neighborhood as a commission. And for the last year it has been riding high, but for some reason one of the neighbors decided to call the city about it to complain. And I guess the deal is you can't have a mural on private residential property or some bs like that. I guess it's on the same guide lines as shop keepers maintaining a clean facade with no graffiti. But it's pretty stupid because from what I understand is that pretty much everyone loves that mural except for that one person that called it in and to top it off it is right next door to a preschool. So no the kids are missing out. Oh and get this to even try a petition to keep the wall you have to pay like $1500 or some obscene amount so the city could even consider not taking it down.
It's Official, The New York Street Advertising Takeover Microsite Is Up
Monday morning at approximately 11:00am the final 3 arrested NYSAT participants had their cases dismissed because the NPA employees who called the police on them failed to sign the deposition in order move forward with the case. This is the same thing that happened with all 9 of the arrests associated with the two NYSAT projects and is an indication that NPA is not interested in a legal battle because they know what they are doing is illegal and would rather sweep controversy under the rug. Now that our participants are safe, our lawyers have told us we can finally launch the official NYSAT website.
On this website you will find an immense amount of information regarding the projects including, project documentation, maps, video, press, information on NPA, information on how to identify and report illegal signage, and a description of how you too can create a public intervention of your own.
We would like to thank everyone involved in this project whose participation made it possible to create such a large scale public intervention that not only benefited the participants but the city at large. We have been continually impressed with the level of commitment NYC residents have to their city and their shared public spaces. It is truly an indication of how much people care about the city they live in and the spaces which knit all those private residences, and ourselves together.
Please note that gathering all the information for this site has been a challenge and we admit there might be some things we overlooked in the process. If you were a participant and you have not been credited, would like to remain anonymous, have imagery you would like included or generally have changes, please contact us and we will alter the site immediately. We cannot thank everyone enough for their dedication to this cause and New York City in general.
I apologize profusely for not posting more this year but I have been working hard on some things to come and they are taking a huge portion of my time these days. I will continue to post more regularly, I promise.
Miss Bugs isn't known for doing ad takeovers but I do love this piece. I have been toying with how to start collapsing the space between the advertisement and the environment lately and this is a fantastic example of just that. For more of Miss Bugs' work go [HERE]
NPA Has No Respect For Chico, Pete, Or You For That Matter
I was looking through some old images of NPA's illegal street level billboards in NYC and realized I hadn't noticed their complete lack of respect for New York's public mural works. Like the Conor Harrington mural that they so callously covered and Dick Chicken and I then liberated, NPA seems to seek out Chico and Pete's work in order to cover it. These artists are not only NYC legends, but true community members and invested urban citizens, painting messages of hope and inclusion on the streets for all of us to enjoy.
Houston Street Between A+B North 6th Street & Avenue C SWC Norfolk & Delancey NEC
Brown Student Gets Up In New York City Phone Booths
Ariel Hudes, a Brown University student, contacted PublicAdCampaign about a month ago with a request. In her first email she wrote..
I'm taking a class at Brown called Radical Media ( http://tiny.cc/QYZ5F). I came across you and the Public Ad Campaign in that Times article a few weeks and have been a daily blog-reader since. I'm totally enthralled. I love what you're doing. And here comes the request...
For our first assignment "create and distribute a radical poster" I made this: https://wiki.brown.edu/confluence/display/mcm1700p/-mission And for our final assignment "a final project that goes beyond the Brown campus"... my dream is to get it blown up... and go to ny and put it in a phone booth.
Obviously we helped her out. She came down on the 13th and off we went with two posters in hand. I put up the first one just so she could see it happen, and then it was her turn. After her first phone booth install she had a grin from ear to ear and a sense of accomplishment that was palpable. Here at PublicAdCampaign we always enjoy facilitating peoples interaction with their public environment. We are also continually impressed with how empowered it makes people feel and how it changes their entire relationship to the streets around them. Congrats Ariel!
Bablegum has chosen the winners of its metropolis arts prize for video in 2009. The winners, as well as runners up, will have their videos screened on the Jumbotrons in Times Square NYC. The categories include a street art video award for which Jason Eppink's Pixelator video was a runner up. If you do not know the Pixelator project, take a look at it here. It is an incredible street art advertising intervention. The irony of this advertising takeover being screened on one of the world largest digital billboards is too much to bear. Please come out on December 17th from 7pm-8pm to watch public content get its rightful place in this great outdoor advertising mecca, and support Jason in his efforts. On another note, Improve Anywhere won the Audience Award with their Subway Yearbook Photo Project. You gotta love Charlie and his antics, they never stop and they always inspire.
A beautiful Billboard By Jennifer Marman & Daniel Borins
Working as fine artists often in a typical gallery context, here Jennifer Marman & Daniel Borins present a more pleasing and contemplative use of the modern billboard format.
Someone sent me these three Brick of Gold pieces that recently hit the street in NYC. From what I understand they were up for a mere 2hr, just enough time to get some photos. There is something about the "I don't care about no phonebooth" piece that I really like. I think it's that I imagine many people would have a hard time believing it is advertising and therefore was probably successful at making the viewer question advertising's place in our public spaces. You can see more installs at The Brick of Gold website HERE.
A while back we were sent an image of a phone kiosk takeover done by an unknown artist. We posted it in hopes of finding out who was responsible for the fantastic work. Sure enough a few months later Najung Kim contacted us claiming responsibility. I love the fact that she uses her real name and that the image was part of a series done for James Victore's Urban Studio class at SVA. Visit Najung's site for more ad takeover images.
Eduardo Moises Penalver & Sonia Kaytal Property Outlaws: How Squatters, Pirates, and Protesters Improve the Law of Ownership Barbara Ehrenreich Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy Lewis Hyde The Gift, Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World Geoffrey Miller Spent: Sex, Evolution, & Consumer Behavior Sharon Zukin The Cultures of Cities Miriam Greenberg Branding New York Naomi Klein No Logo Kalle Lasn Culture Jam Stuart Ewen Captains of Consciousness Stuart Ewen All Consuming Images Stuart & Elizabeth Ewen Channels of Desire Jeff Ferrell Crimes of Style Jeff Ferrell Tearing Down the Streets John Berger Ways of Seeing Joe Austin Taking the Train Rosalyn Deutsche Evictions art + spatial politics Jane Jacobs Death+Life of American Cities
Eddie Colla, a participant in the recent Manifest Equality exhibition out in LA, just posted this video to Vimeo. In it you will find shots of the show but more importantly, Eddie taking out a slew of illegal NPA ads in LA. I find this to be a wonderful example of proper use of public space. These messaging boards normally run the gamut of terrible corporate ad campaigns as evidenced by the poster for Repo Men, but their potential to be used to promote public concerns is exemplified in Eddie's recent activities. How incredible would it be if these spaces were typically used by the average citizen to express their concerns on pertinent social issues like gay marriage.
