French Activists Mean Business

Paysages de France is a national group of French activists that take to the streets monthly to protest illegal signage. It seems like a rowdy good time that I would love to see happen more often stateside. According to our friend in Montauban, they are approaching their 26th "cover up" day which will be filmed by a national public TV channel. Amazing!

Hacker Arrested in Billboard Porn Stunt

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]

Pixelator On The Jumbo Screen In Times Square

A few days ago we told you Bablegum was going to screen Jason Eppink's Pixelator project on one of the Jumbotrons in Times Square. Here it is.

Pixelator On The Jumbo Screen In Times Square

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.

Art, Advertising, Activism and Alchemy Video

Art, Advertising, Activism and Alchemy was a small lecture series presented at the Wonderland Arts space in Queens New York. I spoke in part about my own work, but also attempted to define some of the reasons behind why we as artists, working without authorization in the public, do what we do. As well, how these motivations might inform our process and create works which go beyond that of typical street art and graffiti to engage the public more directly and increase the health of our shared public spaces. You can see all 4 artist's talks [HERE] A big thank you to Jason and PosterChild for inviting me to be a part of this event.



As I was trying to get a clear projection of my thoughts for this talk, I wrote down what I wanted to say beforehand. I speak quickly in the video and therefore am offering the text and slide show as a download for your enjoyment. wonderlandtalk.zip

Right To The City: Paper Tiger Presents The First In A Three Part Series

This is the first video in a 3 part series presented by Paper Tiger on The Right To The City campaign. As this video does not directly relate to outdoor advertising I feel it necessary to explain why I would post this to the PublicAdCampaign site. As I see it, the Right To The City campaign is about providing a voice for those people that the city overlooks. Although this video talks directly about gentrification, the Right To The City campaign can be applied to many other areas in which the public at large is taken advantage of or overlooked in favor of a few individuals.

A while back I went to a lecture at the CUNY grad center in New York at which David Harvey, an integral component in this video series, spoke about the Right To The City concept. I wrote down some of my thoughts and realized this might be a good opportunity to post them as a way of tying the idea of gentrification, in relation to the Right To The City agenda, to the proliferation of outdoor media, as well as justifying the posting of this video. Both gentrification and outdoor advertising take advantage of the city at large, although in different manners, and with more or less obvious effects. By invoking the Right To The City concept, each movement gains momentum from this term's inherent power to represent the will of the people. The following text was my reaction to the lecture and my desire to expand this Right To The City concept to all movements that represent the public's wishes.

I went to a discussion a while back at the CUNY grad center given by David Harvey, Neil Smith, and Don Mitchel. My oversimplified view of the talk was that it was about two things; whether there is, or ever was an urban commons? And what the term "right to the city" was going to mean in the future, and whom would it favor? I'm not an academic so excuse me if I misquote some things. I don't have the material in front of me to draw from, so I will be going from memory.

Mr. Harvey began the talk citing some Marx I believe, specifically a hypothetical conversation regarding the equal rights between an employer and an employee to determine their own version of the working day. To paraphrase, the employer asserts it is his right to work his employees as hard as he wishes, and to death if need be. The employee then responds, that he has the right to live a humane existence where he is treated with dignity and respect over his long life. Marx says that between these two forces equal right to exert there own will on what constitutes a working day, the one with the most force will decide the outcome. To me this idea seems applicable in all situations where "force" is the resolving factor in any conflict of interest, above justice and truth.

The talk then went on to discuss the existence, and or loss of the urban commons, places people have an inherent right to inhabit simply by being in a city; sidewalks, parks, schools, hospitals. It then moved on to the term "right to the city", which has often been used to justify the demands of marginalized populations whose access to urban commons is restricted. But who has the right to the city? What does "right to the city” actually mean? Is it the liberal term to describe the under represented demands of marginalized populations in major metropolitan environments, housing, education, healthcare, homelessness? Or is it something else? Neil Smith made an interesting point, the term "right to the city" could be assumed by any person or group of people living in a city, including the likes of Mayor Bloomberg, or even real estate development firms. They too in fact have a "right to the city", and therefore the term is misleading and could even be problematic for the liberal agenda that wants to politically invest the phrase with a sense of urgency for those whose needs are being overlooked.

Outdoor advertising isn’t one of the typical problems associated with the “right to the city” battle cry, but here at PublicAdCampaign we consider it to a public health issue of great importance. This got me thinking about NPA city outdoor, InWindow, and all the other outdoor advertising corporations that abuse public space by illegally presenting messages that are inherently not public. Messages we as a community have decided should by law, require proper permitting because of their ability to alter the very nature of the spaces they occupy. Both NPA and InWindow, as well as countless other outdoor advertising companies, have forsaken this process. These messages not only construct public space in their own image, turning our shared environment into a commercial space, but also turn our public walls into a commodity, preventing people from using those spaces for important public projects.

These outdoor advertising companies often call on the first amendment when the public protests their abuse of our urban common space. In many ways, they are invoking their own "right to the city" as a reason they should be allowed to operate in our environment as they see fit, even when the city does not give it's consent. These bullying tactics only seem feasible when you think of Marx's idea that if two parties are given the equal right to determine an outcome, how public space is used, the one with the most force will decide that outcome. Outdoor advertising companies often impose their will, or "right to the city" with a monetary force that employs the awesome power of huge legal teams. This is unacceptable, and as a result must change the very nature of who “the right to the city” concept can apply to so that “force” is taken out of the equation.

It can be assumed outdoor advertising is in direct conflict with many people's desire for how public space should be used, given that we have made laws to mediate this conflict. Knowing this, a large community of activists and artists are out on the streets of our city attempting to reclaim what outdoor advertising has taken both physically and psychologically. This is often done illegally, and is our own demand for our "right to the city" in the face of this much stronger force. And yet inevitably that stronger force continues to decide the fate of an environment we should be in control of. The resistance we are putting up and our demand to be a part of the control process in our public spaces seems to be falling on deaf ears. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that there is no accepted avenue for public disagreement with how the city is being used and who it is serving.

How then do we then define this term "right to the city" so that it represents the will of the people and not the elite, or these outdoor advertising corporations? How do we create a city in which the public can protest and be heard, or invoke this "right to the city" in a way in which the city assumes our demands are the priority? This city should serve the people first. No one should go to jail for loitering, be moved on for no reason by police when congregating in groups larger than 3, or for defacing an illegal advertisement in protest of the wholesale abuse our of shared common spaces. The public is the only one who can demand a "right to the city" because we are the city. Corporations, buildings, governments and institutions may come and go but it is the people who should always be heard first. The term “right to the city” should be a battle cry for those whose voice represents this city. That means the homeless, those without proper healthcare, those without proper education, and I shamelessly throw in at the end, those who demand that the city be curated by residents and not companies trying to pry open our minds and insert thoughts of an entirely un-public nature. When the term “right to the city” is used in this light, it immediately invokes the power of the public and not those who have no right to determine our city’s fate.

The 2009 Summer Arts Institute Filmmaking Workshop

This video was shot and edited by four incredibly talented high school students working in conjunction with the Tribeca Film Institute this past summer. I was excited to see PublicAdCampaign paired with two other direct action projects run by, Real Life Superhero Life, and Deborah Fisher of the Bed Stuy Meadow Project. All of these projects are ultimately about creating positive dialogue in our city about issues facing our public health, through alternative methods that better the environment and the people who live in this city. Thanks again to everyone involved and to Deborah and Life for being two inspirational public individuals.


Make it Happen

By Caroline Handel, Rayhan Islam, Milo Finnegan-Money, Rhakwaun “Rocko” Seymour

Three people in New York City, disillusioned by their political situations, have taken matters into their own hands. Make It Happen profiles each of these non-traditional activists as they tackle issues in their local communities through unusual forms of protest and with innovative ideas to make change.

Keith Haskel's Video On The Last NYSAT Project

Thanks to everyone for coming out to the fundraiser last night. I had a fantastic time and I hope you did too! See more great videos and artist interviews on Keith Haskel's website. [HERE]

Vampire Diaries Streetscape Video

A few days ago I posted an update on the illegal, Vampire Diaries Streetscape, located at 14th street and 9th avenue. In that post I explained how the video player registers when viewers stand in front of the ad for more than a few seconds. Not only is this an opportunity to collect simple marketing data such as how often the ad is looked at, and how long the viewer engages the ad, but also more specific information about each individual viewer using facial recognition technology that can provide viewer demographics, viewer counts, and even "opportunity to see" counts.
Don't ask me why those girls stopped to join me in my observation, I think they were drunk.

Paper Tiger Video - April 25th NYSAT Project

This video was created by my good friends over at Paper Tiger TV, a non-profit volunteer video collective. It was very close to the project go date when they interviewed me and I was running on less than optimal sleep. Some of the other people they talked to had some incredible things to say about their reasons for participating and their motivations. Thanks again to Sarah Strahan and everyone who worked on the video. With such a fast recovery by NPA City Outdoor, these small snippets of what happened are all that's left of a lot of hard work by a huge group of incredible people.

Documentary on Illegal Billboards in Toronto

I love the fact that Toronto calls for a special enforcement unit to take care of the proliferation of illegal advertisements. Let it be known we have such a unit in New York City and they are so over burdened that public activist calling out over 130 illegal advertisements has rendered little to no results. In fact, the process of calling out said advertisements resulted in the arrest of 4 concerned public citizens. We not only gave the DOB Sign enforcement unit a map of NPA City Outdoor illegal locations, but provided photographic documentation as well. Despite this fact, no action has been taken against the offending outdoor advertising company. When does it become a citizens responsibility to act outside the law because the law cannot enforce the public's wishes?

Digital Bus Advertisement Video

This seems like a bad idea to me.

PosterChild Was in Town and I Didn't Talk to Him Long Enough

PosterChild collaborated on the NYSAT project, coming all the way down from Canada to participate. He just sent me these videos and it made me realize I had a chance to talk to this guy and I didn't take full advantage of the opportunity. The more I see of his work, the more I like what I see. It's a serious playful good time and I love it.

Augor on Painting Illegal Billboards in LA

Too Tall Jahmal and Augor sound off about graffiti's usage of public space and particularly in relation to illegal billboard signage in LA. Jahmal says "The billbaords in my mind, inspired graffiti...it's only natural for a kid to go, 'Hey, I wanna logo too'". And the result is the liberation of these private billboards, brand locations and logo placeholders, by the very graffiti that they inspired. Fantastic.

RocketBoom Video

Special thanks to RocketBoom, Andrew and Ronen for making the RocketBoom video possible. It's wonderful to watch these illegal ad locations go mute, and wonder what the city might put up for itself if given the opportunity.

I AM And Posterchild Time Lapse For NYSAT

Posterchild came down from Canada to Participate in the NYSAT project that happened April 25th of last month. Him and I AM not only managed to grab several amazing locations, but to time lapse the whole process. Here are the fantastic results.

Report From The Billboard Jungle in Los Angeles ::: illegalsigns

If you don't enjoy watching news programming in your free time, consider watching this on company time Monday morning.

WNYC New York

I was asked to be on WNYC earlier this week and obviously jumped at the opportunity. For a section called "Your Uncommon Economic Indicators", Mr. Lehrer talks about different things around the city which might give us a glimpse into the economy where we wouldn't expect one. The first part of this section is a discussion with Clear Channel Spectracolor president, Harry Coglin and Liz Goldwin, a video artist. They talk about a recent collaboration in Times Square that gives Liz use of Clear Channel's digital technology for her artwork. There is little mention of whether or not this is actually because the billboard space isn't selling well these days, or because Clear Channel suddenly decided it was time to dabble in the arts, but my guess is it's the former. Around 7 minutes in, Brian Talks with me about the PublicAdCampaign Project. I must admit I was a little nervous.

NYSAT-Barbara Celis Video

Artist- NohJ Photo-Courtesy of the artist

Barbara Celis is a journalist that writes for El Pais, a spanish newspaper. Her dedication to capturing as much as she could of the NYSAT project has resulted in the first blog post regarding the event, and now this video which she just posted this morning. Although the video privileges the art aspect of this takeover, I want to be clear that many non-artists participated in this event including an architect, a bio-physicist, a sports writer, a software developer, and countless others. More than about art, this project was about public participation in the visual construction of their shared environment.

Phone Booth Removal Instructional Video

This instructional video teaches you what you need to break into a phone booth, and how to do it. Remember it is illegal to tamper with private property even when it's in your public environment, assaulting your senses with messages you couldn't care less about for things you don't need.

Enjoy!

Interview with Tom14

This is an amazing interview with Tom14 that illustrates the important link between street art and community. It speaks to the destruction of public space and street art's role in defying what many consider the inevitable "progression" of neighborhoods away from what community members consider their home. To interact with your environment is to stake claim to the ways it is used, and to renegotiate the power structure which determines its fate.

Old Kaws Video

A good friend of mine, Jeannie Kim, sent me this video. Though old, it was new to me and very fun to watch. As usual I hate the idea of leaving the ad behind when working over public advertising, but Kaws' saturation and distinctive style is often able to visually supersede the advertisement and remove it, if not physically. Enjoy<

Consuming Images with Bill Moyers-PBS

This six part series aired on PBS in 1989, but I think its still well worth watching. Professor Stuart Ewen of the CUNY graduate center has some wonderful things to say about advertising culture that echoes much of what he talks about in the three books I have listed on this site.


Part 2-http://youtube.com/watch?v=7VgVv8RZ8B0
Part 3-http://youtube.com/watch?v=Yk4SanV7xjk
Part 4-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R97Y2wL8zzU&feature=related
Part 5-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ha8IHqOfA&feature=related
Part 6-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCRP62Cf5wM

Scenic America Visual Essay

Found this visual essay by Scenic America and had to share it.

Stained Glass-PosterChild

This is some truly far out shit by PosterChild who is a toronto based public artist collaborating with Jason Eppink and Steve Lambert of the Anti Advertising Agency. Not only does the work look stunning but the messages are clear, re-appropriation of public advertising structures only leads to good things. www.bladediary.com

Light Criticism-GRL

The graffiti research lab made this project happen and we should all take note. Simple words sometimes are the best words.