<body> Public Ad Campaign: July 2016
This blog is a resource for ad takeover artists and information about contemporary advertising issues in public space. If you have content you would like to share, please send us an email.

Friday, July 29, 2016

The Art Conference #01

I just got back from London where Tina Ziegler held the first TAC (The Art Conference) in a beautiful old factory venue called the Ugly Duck. I was asked to open two days of pretty intense talks about Art, Technology, and social engagement. I took the task seriously and used my work to show how advertising, as one of the sub genre's of cultural production systems, undermines social progress by monopolizing the systems of dissemination, prohibiting access and participation, economically driving technological determinism, and framing our cultural values in frighteningly self serving ways. It all went pretty well despite not having a podium to put my papers on. Given the chance to do it again I plan to do a little more memorization, and to attempt to go beyond advertising to Art itself, which has its own way of slowing social progress in ways which are similar to advertising itself. 
Notable speakers from the conference were RJ Rushmore who's talk From Dissidence to Decorative derided projects like Urban Nation as decorative city wallpaper intent on raising property value more than providing any of the real radical politics once prescribed to street art. As a nice opposition to that, Teresa Latuszewska spoke about the Urban Forms mural project in Lodz Poland which is a sanctioned mural project but one that works hard to reach out to the community and integrate itself deep into the skin of the city. They have also done some pretty boring and thankless work gathering hard statistics on peoples feelings towards the individual murals and the culture in general. Mia Grundahl spoke about Women on Walls which I knew little about and which practically brought me to tears. To say that these projects proved RJ's point would be an understatement. 
Similarly heartbreaking and inspirational was the work of Robert Montgomery whose texts can often be found on the street where advertising once broadcast its messages loudly. Robert has taken over billboards illegally, but he has also worked directly with the OOH companies to place his work. At first I was upset that he would collaborate with the enemy, but after speaking with him and hearing him talk, I realized that my radical politics was less important to him than ensuring there was an alternative voice to the aggressive commercial megaphone we are often confronted with on a daily basis. His writing, a sort of haunting conversation with the city and capitalism, draws a beautiful contrast that works to undermine consumerist propaganda. While I surely like his illegal pieces better, I cannot say that the sanctioned pieces are less effective to someone who doesn't know the politics behind anti ad activity. And finally Dan Witz took me on a nostalgic trip back to his earliest work that began in 1978 a year before I was born. That guy has been doing groundbreaking street art before the term was coined, hell even before graf made its mark. A true pioneer. 
All in all it was a fantastic event and I look forward to the next. If you have an opportunity to visit one yourself, I highly suggest taking the time. 
A quick installation on Commercial street, London
 The incredible force behind TAC01 Tina Ziegler
 The crowd at the first TAC
 Talking to Dan Witz about staying the course and privilege
Robert Montgomery
Speaking about how advertising undermines social progress
Speaking about how advertising undermines social progress

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Thursday, July 28, 2016

Anti-Advertising History? That's Historic!

While I definitely think there are some additions to this Anti-Advertising history, I was super happy to be included in the timeline. The fact of the mater is that despite the growth of advertising alongside the rise of global capitalism, there is a strong resistance being mounted from artists and academics alike that see it as an important battleground for addressing the rampant pillaging of our planet and the de-evolution of our critical public discourse.



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Wednesday, July 27, 2016

New Yorkers Greet the Arrival of Wi-Fi Kiosks With Panic, Skepticism and Relief

When it comes to acceptance of New York City’s rapidly growing network of sidewalk kiosks offering “free super fast Wi-Fi,” some people are Nekeya Browns and some are Alex Padillas. More [HERE]

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Saturday, July 23, 2016

Philly Artist Joe Boruchow Calls Out Trump, Rizzo With Latest Work

VIA: Philadelphia Magazine
Well-known Philly artist Joe Boruchow has recently added three new works to his portfolio — and to the streets of Philly. Each are rendered in Boruchow’s signature black-and-white paper cutouts, cut from a single sheet of black paper and wheat pasted to platforms around the city. The latest designs mock Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and protest the statue erected in honor of 1970’s Philadelphia mayor Frank Rizzo in front of the Municipal Services Building. Read more [HERE]

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Friday, July 22, 2016

Lena Dunham Calls for Altering of Gun-Toting 'Jason Bourne' Subway Ads

Looks like someone out there shares my thoughts on gun advertising and our public interest. In part this idea came from a series of images that Jon Burgerman did using advertising violence and a little photoshop to make some wonderfully fun critical commentary. See them all [HERE]

VIA: The Hollywood Reporter
In light of the recent shooting tragedies that have occurred in the U.S., Lena Dunham is in full support of ripping gun images out of the new Jason Bourne subway ads.

After producer Tami Sagher proposed removing images of the gun that Matt Damon’s titular character is seen holding in the film’s ads, the creator and star of HBO's Girls reposted Sagher’s message. In full support of bringing awareness to gun control, Dunham captioned the photo: “Good idea @tulipbone! Let's go!” More [HERE]

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Thursday, July 21, 2016

New Work from Vlady Art in Italy

Vlady just sent me a whole bunch of ad takeover images with his signature internet related content on physical ad spaces. This is by far my favorite image from the series. More from Vlady [HERE]

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Thursday, July 14, 2016

Art Commission approves rehab of 5th Street El station, denies digital displays at SEPTA entrances

Philadelphia has a backbone and because of it they will resist the increasing digital blight blanketing major metropolitan cities across the United States. At this point I am beginning to see Intersection without the rose colored glasses they gave me a few years back when they were looking for community engagement strategies and other ways to ingratiate thier network of digital advertising structures into the NYC landscape. Thank god for Mary Tracy and the rest of the Scenic Philadelphia team. 
What we won’t see at SEPTA’s 5th Street/ Independence Hall Station is digital displays on the new entrances. The Art Commission rejected the permanent installation of 42 digital outdoor displays proposed for SEPTA entrances as part of a public-private partnership. More [HERE]

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Saturday, July 9, 2016

New OX Collaboration In Paris

Here is a new collaboration between OX and one of his 80's crew members Trois Carre from the streets of Paris. I've said it before but I'll say it again, OX is my favorite ad takeover artists out there. While this piece is definitely a collaboration, partially cause OX just doesn't go this detailed very often and usually relies on simpler abstractions with his work, I still feel OX through and through. The relationship to the surrounding environment is something OX includes in most pieces and this collaboration relies heavily on the staircase to ground itself. For me, this is a very important tool for the ad takeover artist cause it allows the viewer to realize that something is amiss. Once that recognition happens, (something that can be very difficult given how much viewers try to avoid ad messages and how ingrained commercial messaging is in these spaces, as opposed to public art or commentary) viewers can begin the process of thinking about advertising in public spaces as a concept. We are all so aware of culture jamming, political commentary, and the general agenda of trying to undermine commercial messaging that I think it goes in one ear and out the other. Not to mention, even if you receive a culture jammed message loud and clear, you still think heavily about the company behind the errant message. In light of that it seems the only logical response to an over saturation of commercial media is to remove it entirely. To me these pieces do well by talking about the frame and not what was once inside.

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Thursday, July 7, 2016

Advertising Takeovers / A Practical Workshop

Join us at May Day on 176 Nicholas Ave in Brooklyn, on July 15th between 7pm and 9pm for a practical introduction to Advertising Takeover work. The event is free and you can easily register for the limited number of seats on Eventbrite [HERE] A friend will give a bit of history into the movement before I give a very brief introduction to the tools and my preferred method of working.
Subvertising is the practice of altering, removing, or reversing of commercial outdoor media spaces that has seen an emergence over the last few years. From huge projects with 600 advert takeovers to individual site-specific interventions, a range of collectives and individuals have successfully enrolled the practice into a tactical force for political movements and for critical artistic practices. This event starts by offering a brief historical and theoretical overview of the practice before sharing all the practical skills and knowledge required for undertaking your own advertising takeovers in New York. We’ll bring in posters and painting materials to create our own adverts during the workshop. Come and join us!

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Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Google Is Transforming NYC's Payphones Into a 'Personalized Propaganda Engine'

VIA: The Village Voice
At six-five, Bill de Blasio is usually considerably taller than his conversation partners. But on a cold day in February, the mayor of New York City was on the corner of Third Avenue and 16th Street, interfacing with a nine-and-a-half-foot-tall slab, all sleek curves of metal and glass, that had recently appeared on the sidewalk outside the Mariella Pizza shop. The mayor was testing the monolith's local expertise — did it know the location of the pre-kindergarten program nearest to his Park Slope home? The machine passed the quiz, and, the mayoral mugging concluded, de Blasio turned to the microphone. More [HERE]

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Smart billboards will identify car models and target ads to drivers

VIA: Digital Trends
Does it bother, please, or amuse you when targeted remarketing by Facebook or Google shows ads for items you recently investigated online? Regardless of how you feel about it, targeted advertising is not only here, but it’s going to increase. More [HERE]

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Saturday, July 2, 2016

Ad Space Takeover in Front of Exhibition

Kristin Calabrese hijacked this bus shelter in front of her exhibit to talk about the importance of a space to talk about whatever we like. I love it and the boldness of dropping ti right in front of her show. more of her work [HERE]
MY BUS SHELTER IN FRONT OF LA><ART 
7000 Santa Monica Blvd. 
Los Angeles, CA 90038 
www.laxart.org

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Friday, July 1, 2016

Long Live Jean Claude Decaeux - An Obituary

I'm sure he was a really nice guy but christ all mighty he built an empire of...well shitty street furniture covered in ads in 3,700 cities worldwide. 
Jean-Claude Decaux, who has died aged 78, was a French entrepreneur who made a fortune from outdoor advertising – on poster sites, bus shelters, kiosks, transport systems and even public lavatories. More [Here]

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