One of the Most Recognized Artists in the World Writes on the Streets

Callie has always been an inspiration for myself and many other artists who watch her continually lead by example. Her work, time and again, finds new and innovative ways to defy categorization as Art, and instead be social, political, and transformational for anyone involved. (sadly words I just dont equate with art) Anyways, she has a short interview with The Nation in which she is qouted with what I believe to be at the heart of my own process, an idealized street and public art, and how we understand properly functioning public spaces. 

I think that when we are creatively able to set our hands on something, and able to be a part of the small and creative decisions of making our place, we feel at home; we care about our home; we are able to feel more invested in it and take care of it. Giving people a creative outlet, to be part of having a say in what their city looks like, is part of a healthy community.

VIA: The Nation

Caledonia Curry, a.k.a. Swoon, is among the most recognized street artists in the world. Her work is now in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. 
 She has also created projects with communities in New Orleans, Pennsylvania, and Haiti, as well as a floating city on rafts. More [HERE]

New Beastmaster work in Madrid.

Barcelona - Title: “You can stretch the truth”.

Beastmaster recently sent in these ad takeovers from Madrid and Barcelon that I really love. The production value is fantastic and his messaging is consistently interesting. I just wish he would ditch the logo. The logo thing is a pet peeve of mine because it warrants the criticism, "isn't this just an ad for yourself? and if so, what gives you the right?" While I do agree that adding a logo does make the work self promotional, I do not believe it invalidates the work. The messaging Beastmaster is putting across is in direct conflict with many of the advertisings core ideals and is a welcome replacement. Either way the work is thought provoking and well worth taking a look at [HERE]

Madrid - Title: “White Limo”.

How Selective Enforcement of Illegal Advertising Laws Punishes Creative Activism

VIA: Hyperallergic

The enforcement of city and state law pertaining to graffiti, advertising, and other signage has enormous power to visually shape public space. In New York City, enforcement is heavily skewed to ignore illegal commercial advertising, while simultaneously aggressively targeting graffiti and, in some cases, symbols of dissent. More [HERE]

Everyone Hates Public Ads. Meet the Man Who Is Trying to Take Them All Down.

Here is a nice little video about the PublicAccess project produced by Aymann Ismail for slate.com. It's short and succinct, and while there are so many aspects and arguments behind what and why I do what I do, I think it makes a clear statement. 

VIA: Slate

It’s a little past 3 p.m. in Manhattan, and Jordan Seiler is getting ready for his next public-ad intervention. He uses a homemade key he forged earlier from scratch to access an ad display in a bus shelter. After rolling up the ad and tossing it, he installed a simple black-and-white pattern he designed in its place. More [HERE]

Clear Channel’s L.A. Billboards: Ignoring Outdoor Advertising Industry Code of Principles

I am often criticized for addressing my concerns through improper methods and told I should operate within the law if I take such a strong issue with OOH advertising. I understand the concern but the industry I am up against has never played by the rules so why should I? 

VIA: Ban Billboard Blight

Several months ago, we pointed out the fact that a Clear Channel billboard on Lincoln Blvd. in Venice violated an outdoor advertising industry code regarding the proximity of alcohol ads to schools and places of worship. That ad for New Amsterdam vodka was recently removed, but what’s displayed now on that 52 ft. high, 624 sq. ft. sign? An ad for Camarena tequila. More [HERE]

New PublicAdCampaign Street/Gallery Work - Collisions 2015

In 2015 I installed three simple black and white designs over three consecutive advertising panels in order to create a stark contrast with the environment that would arrest viewers and allow them to see that an intervention had taken place. I have since then continued to make interventions using this same design motif, calling it the Collisions series. Here are a few images from that series thus far. 

I have also been experimenting with Augmented Reality and my gallery work so if you are feeling ambitious, download the PublicAdCampaign app (700mb) for iOS [HERE] and Android [HERE] Once you launch the app, point it at any of the images below and enjoy some extra content buried in the digital world. 

NYC, 2015

Berlin, 2015

Paris, 2015

Paris, 2015

Barcelona, 2015

Brussels, 2015

Brussels, 2015

London, 2015

London, 2015

London, 2015

London, 2015

Paris, 2015

Collaboration with OX, Paris 2015

Ad-free art on the underground: Düsseldorf's 'pure' new metro line

These days, our public spaces are thought of as opportunities to tap into the vast wealth of attention that we collectively possess as we move through our shared environments. Typically that attention is directed towards advertising and our thoughts are asked to ruminate on our relationship to the automobile we drive, the type of detergent we wash our clothes in, or the entertainment we will use to pass the hours post dinner and pre sleep. Public space as a vehicle to promote conspicuous consumption, and this demand of our attention for specified motivations can leave us feeling intruded upon, taken advantage of, or manipulated. It makes sense because this is precisely what is happening, although we might not couch it in such terms, having become so comfortable with advertising's ever presence in our lives, and particularly in our public. The truth of the matter is we are being used when we step out of the house and that is no way to be treated in a space which is at least partially your own.

The recent opening of several new train stations in Dusseldorf, Germany seems to deeply understand this idea, as well as the power of art to expand ones attention as opposed to focusing it singularly.

"What is perhaps most inspiring about the project is how the lack of adverts means people can be people, and not consumers. Klussmann says: “Art is often used to attract people to buy things.” But here it is just about the art and the space, and wherever your imagination takes you. "

This notion reminded me of an obvious little piece of advice that in the digital age we fail to recognize and surely follow. Our minds need, in fact thrive on down time, those moments in between when our attention is unfocused and our thoughts drift. It is in these moments of drift that my mind makes new connections and novel thoughts bubble up to the surface without prompting. In the age of smartphones, we are woefully inept at allowing ourselves these moments of drift as we incessantly check Facebook, Instagram, Feedly, or some other constantly updating source of attention fodder attempting to fill those down moments.

Public space treated correctly can allow our minds the space to drift, or it can be used as a vehicle to distract us and keep our minds mulling over the minutia of capitalism. It seems like we should demand the later as it is in our best interest, and yet a newly minted subway system like this one in Dusseldorf is a noteworthy anomaly.

VIA: The Gaurdian

It was an unusual project,” says Berlin-based artist Heike Klussmann, a lead designer of the new U-Bahn line, which opens on Saturday in the German city of Düsseldorf. Fifteen years in the making, the Wehrhahn metro line consists of six new stations running east to west beneath the city centre, collaboratively designed by architects, artists and engineers. “Normally the construction part happens first and then the artists are commissioned. Here the architects, artists and engineers worked together from the beginning,” she says. More [HERE]

Image of the Stockholm subway as another example of Germany's progressive use of thier public spaces.

LinkNYC's free gigabit WiFi officially launches, we go hands-on

This isn't directly outdoor advertising related but I think its worth knowing about regardless. LinkNYC is in the process of rapidly replacing NYC's phonebooths with thier own street furniture that will bring incredibly fast free wifi, amongst other things. Having spoken to the CTO, I know the motivation behind this infrastructure initiative is being done with NYC's best interest in mind and the benefits to the average citizen will be widespread. Thought like all public infrastructure these days, the funding to make this initiative viable will come from advertising. One can only hope that because the advertising will be piped in via a digital screen, some of that real estate will make it back into the hands of the public whose ever present gaze is what makes this revenue stream viable in the first place. 

VIA: Engadget

A month ago, we were hot on LinkNYC's free gigabit WiFi hotspots when they kicked off beta testing. Today, the organization is officially launching its payphone replacement hotspots (or Links, for short) --- and with that, it's turning on their integrated tablets for the first time. That means you'll be able to do a lot more than just tap into blazing fast WiFi from the Links. You can also browse the web, get directions with Google Maps, and make free VoIP calls to anywhere in America. After testing out one of the tablets briefly, I can say one thing for sure: New Yorkers won't miss their dirty old payphones at all. More [HERE]

OX IN SAINT ÉTIENNE

It looks like the amazing Marc Schiller over at Wooster Collective has begun posting again. Marc is a colleague whom I have admired for a long time and who recently suffered from some serious medical issues that I was made aware of through social media. While I didn't feel it was my place to reach out directly...Marc if you are reading this "I wish you the speediest full recovery and I am so happy to see your energy going back into the Wooster Collective. You and Sara's creation of that online venue so many years ago changed the course of public art and renewed the publics interest in our city streets. Thank you and I hope I get to see you around sooner than later." 

VIA: Wooster Collective

French street artist OX creates posters and billboards that impact public spaces in surprising ways. Since 2000, OX has placed about 300 works on billboards across the globe. He covers them with geometric or abstract compositions and mixes the styles of avant-garde movements with the world of commercial images. More [HERE]

Barcelona Is Targeting Billboards It Sees as 'Pollution'

While some might think I am crazy, or just a little to "passionate", about how our public spaces are used by the OOH industry, I give you the below article. I feel like the recent rise in legitimate questioning of advertisings assumed right to our public environment by local governments and individuals, is giving credence to my craziness. Beyond being harmful to our collective psyche, are we simply giving it all away too cheaply? Why subject ourselves to the whims of an industry hellbent on using our attention to create vast wealth that they then extract away from our cities, leaving them crowded with imagery that no one wants to see, and devoid of the individual character that makes each beautiful concrete jungle its own. Barcelona mayor Colau doesn't see the problem in black and white but he sure does understand that Barcelona is getting the short end of the stick.

"Across the board, Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau’s administration has been fighting to cut back on what it sees as commercial exploitation of the city."

VIA: The Atlantic City Lab

Flickr/Serge Melki

Public advertising is pollution and it needs to be curbed. So insists a new policy from Barcelona, which will substantially cut back on how much advertising City Hall permits in public places. In a bid to make Barcelona a more attractive, less aesthetically cluttered place, street advertising in the city will be reduced by 20 percent in July 2016. More [HERE] El Pais Article [HERE]

Spectre in Dayton Ohio

Spectre sent us this fantastic billboard hit he did on his way to Dayton Ohio. Can't beat a little road tripping.