Two things happened on my bike today, one which is about advertising and the other isn’t but both are about public space and it’s uses and controls.
One: who owns the street sign posts
This morning I rode my bike to a not-so-close subway stop because I had to run into Manhattan for a meeting and make [...]
Someone left a copy of Overspray Magazine at my studio the other day and as I thumbed through it I came across this small blip on Urban Pranksterism. There were some fun quotes I thought were relevant as we redefine some of the motivations for our work to help guide us forward in this new [...]
The billboard industry is—obviously—in the business of getting messages across.
This they have managed to do, with a vengeance.
In anticipation of today's City Council debate on a proposed new billboard bylaw and tax, the billboard industry has been using its own platform to communicate its deep opposition to these measures. The Out-of-Home Marketing Association of Canada [...]
I woke up half drunk today cause last night was crazy! Had a feeling today needed to involve some art and a bit of takeover. Went to Da Vinci and bought some paper and voila. Art happens at all times of the day. PS: I met couple that is going to do their wedding photos [...]
Why is the San Francisco Examiner doing a better job of reporting on illegal advertising than the New York Times?
Less than 10 days ago the Times published a story on billboards appearing on vacant storefronts. It almost reads like an ad itself:
Taking advantage of all the abandoned retail spaces in urban areas, marketers are [...]
Reporting from Paris — Over the centuries, the French have cultivated the fine art of rebellion. The list of targets encompasses tyrants, wars, colonialism and, above all, capitalism in its many manifestations. The latest enemy may seem unlikely: billboards.
The Dismantlers, as a nationwide group of anti-ad crusaders call themselves, aren’t violent or loud or [...]
According to the New York Times, “Poster Boy” was arrested on Saturday night.
While most other street or graffiti artists concentrate on adding their own imagery, illegally, to parts of the subway system, Poster Boy, a kind of anti-consumerist Zorro with a razor blade, a sense of humor and a talent for collage, has made his [...]
The New York MTA, in collaboration with CBS Outdoor, wants to cover the windows of subway cars with advertising. This story at the NYTimes Cityroom blog is peppered with rationalizations from the MTA. Here’s one of my favorites:
“[T]ransit officials say that advertising revenue is not the main motivation for the program.”
(Transit officials, not [...]
This is graffiti:
it’s spray paint it’s done without permission on someone else’s property it’s illegal politicians hate it
It’s the expression of a citizen (or small group of citizens) in public space speaking to fellow citizens. Anyone, willing to take the legal [...]
excerpted from – In Florida, Billboards Trump Trees : NPR
Highway 192 used to be exceptionally plain. It was lined by weed-filled ditches, with no sidewalks and poor lighting. It was drab.
So the property owners voted to tax themselves $29 million to make the roadway safer and prettier.
“Look at it today,” says Lizasuain. “We have [...]
Within the first minute of this interview with Jon Reiss about his new documentary “Bomb It” Reiss cuts to the heart, talking about the battle for public space between graffiti writers and advertising. If you don’t “get” graffiti or what the big deal about public space is, this might be the movie for you. [...]
