Waiting for a Bus? Time to Enjoy a Taste of Art

While I obviously have an issue with PAF and JCD as the curators of our civic media environment, I am very happy with curator Katerina Stathopoulou's choice for this project. Public space should be used by, and be representative of, the citizens who live in our cities. Elle Perez's work will no doubt bring us a deeply personal group of portraits that reflect our city back at us in all its beauty and nuance.

VIA: The New York Times

This summer, 100 city bus shelters will be transformed into platforms for an exhibition of work by a New York-based photographer, Elle Pérez. More [HERE]

Zaha Hadid Architects transforms the classic billboard into public art

VIA: Archinect

Zaha Hadid Architects has created a new design for street advertising with JCDecaux Group, a multinational corporation known for its bus-stop advertising systems and billboards. Creating a sculptural advertising approach, the firm's design reinvents the classic billboard into public art. Brands have been invited to bid for placement on the 85 by 20 foot screen structure. So far Audi and Coty are the first to sign up. More [HERE]

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. 

VIA: The Telegraph

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]

RAP Press Release

Below is a press release I was sent about RAP's recent action at the JCDecaux headquarters. While this all might strike people as borderline insane, it is important to remember that advertising and it the collective influence of commercial media is not a natural state of existence but rather a momentary manifestation of capitalism run amok. Removing its influence would have far reaching positive effects on our society which may help mitigate our effect on the climate, help resolve social issues that surround economic inequality, and generally allow for an atmosphere of collectivity to appear out of a deeply selfish, every man for himself, economic model that dictates large portions of our existence. So maybe this is less crazy than you think and simply beginning of something new.

ENGLISH --------------------------------------------------------------- 
RAP invited itself to JC Decaux's headquarters ahead of the international day against advertising

Ahead of the international day against advertising taking place on the 25th of March, the french association Resistance à l’Agresion Publicitaire (Resistance to Advertising Agresion) invited itself at the headquarters of the paris-based multinational company of billboards JC Decaux.

On the banner : "Let's free the planet of ads"

Khaled Gaiji, President of RAP declares: “ in addition to violate citizens freedom of (no) reception by invading public space with advertising, the world leader of billboards also systematically violate French laws on billboards. We are here today to denounce this situation and ask to JC Decaux Executive office an appointment in order to discuss solutions to this issue that has already lasted too long”. After unpholding a banner “let’s free up the planet of ads” next to JC Decaux‘ headerquarter’s logo, Julien Simon, Human Resources Director, came to meet the President of RAP and committed to organize an appointment as soon as possible. RAP will make sure this commitment does not go unheeded.

More information :
Contact: Renaud Fossard + 33 (0)6 37 52 45 90
Link to picture (high definition):
http://journee.contrelapub.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/photo-JJC-DECAUX.Finalhd.jpg
International campaign website: http://dayagainstad.org

Zaha Hadid attempts to rethink roadside advertising with billboard design

Designs have been revealed for one of Zaha Hadid's smallest new structures – an advertising billboard for a stretch of road in west London that the architect says will "create a new genre in the roadside advertising canon".

Zaha Hadid was commissioned by outdoor advertising company JCDecaux to design a "curved and flowing" billboard for a narrow plot of land on the south side of West Cromwell Road – one of the main routes into central London from Heathrow airport. More [HERE]

Grenoble, première grande ville européenne à bannir la publicité de ses rues

Looks like the city of Grenoble has made the decision to remove all outdoor advertising from it's streets. While it seems like there is a healthy debate happening online about the benefits behind such a move, "the city’s deputy mayor Lucile Lheureux explained: “The business model of street advertising is down. Advertisers want to upgrade to digital screens. We don’t want to make that move. We don’t want our city’s children bombarded with animated advertising on TV screens in the street.” 

Although there will only be 326 ads removed in total, (not including the bus shelters which will stay until at least 2019 when the contract is up for renewal) for a city of this size making the bold move to improve the health of its citizens and streets, is a welcome reminder that all is not lost in the fight to improve out shared public spaces. In fact it's got more than a few industry insiders talking seriously about the backlash against brand intrusion. 

VIA: Le Dauphine

Saisissant l’opportunité de la fin de son contrat avec la société JC Decaux, la commune de Grenoble a décidé bannir la publicité de ses rues. La capitale des Alpes va donc devenir la première grande ville européenne à faire démonter ses panneaux, ses colonnes et ses "sucettes". Le but : libérer de l’espace public, développer parallèlement des lieux d’expression citoyenne, et en finir aussi avec un modèle que la municipalité EELV/PG juge « obsolète» et « trop agressif ». En tout, ce sont 326 panneaux publicitaires qui vont ainsi disparaître de l’espace public grenoblois, soit au total plus de 2 000 m² de publicité en moins dans la ville. More [HERE]

Recent LA Bus Shelter Takeovers and Panel Discussion

LA Bus Shelter Takeover 2014

Over a month ago I spoke to a group of urban planners, outdoor advertising executives, and concerned Los Angeles residents at a Westside Urban Forum panel titled, "Art and Billboards: What do we want the City of Los Angeles to look like?" I was invited to this discussion by Dennis Hathaway of Ban Billboard Blight, who has become a friend and colleague that I have kept in touch with over the years. It was an opportunity to espouse some of my more "radical" views on how public space should be used, to a group of people who might not normally think about the issue the way I do. This meant going beyond the typical arguments of legality, zoning, and blight that are normally associated with the outdoor advertising debate, to the more pressing question of how is all of this commercial signage effecting our social psyche. 

Inevitably the fact that there could be a fundamental problem with using public space for commercial signage was lost on part of the crowd. People within the outdoor advertising industry obviously have a hard time listening to a model of public space that would eradicate the very business that they work for. That said the audience in general was receptive to the idea that there may be a problem with surrounding ourselves with a repetitive demand to consume at an ever increasing pace, and that public space and the health of our cities might be fundamentally at odds with the type of behavior that outdoor advertising promotes. 

It was an interesting discussion and one I was happy to see the citizens of Los Angeles engaging head on. If only we did this more often and the issue did not seem to be a demand of the "educated media literate class" but rather the concern of every city inhabitant with an interest in retaining a modicum of self determination.

LA Bus Shelter Takeover 2014

Public Access (Heavy Edition) in Public Data Explorer Group exhibition at HLP

Public Access, Heavy Edition, Handmade Augmented Box.

Public Data Explorer was a group exhibition at Harlan Levy Projects in Brussels, in November of 2013. I exhibited works from the Echo series, tools from the Public Access Project, and video from the most recent Re+Public project with MOMO. Alongside those works I created a handmade box called Public Access (Heavy Edition), in conjunction with my Re+Public Partner, Heavy. This box holds two of the Public Access Keys and a tablet with a single augmented reality application. That application recognizes the embossed text on the boxes lid and displays infographics which teach the user what the key is for, and how to use it.

Iselin in Brussels 2013

I just got back from an opening in Brussels and wanted to post this single ad takeover I did before I give shots and a description of the actual gallery install. As you probably know I've been making keys these days and quickly finding out they are pretty universal when all is said and done. More to follow soon but until then, public access for all!

Mockumentary: How to Open JCDecaux Ads

This might just be my favorite video Mocumentary of all time. 

French Advertiser JCDecaux Begins U.S. Push With Chicago Billboards

VIA Business Week

In a public toilet outside Paris, Jean-François Decaux lays out his plans to conquer America. His company, JCDecaux, has become the world’s biggest outdoor advertiser by building posh potties and slick bus stops designed by the likes of Norman Foster and Philip Cox and plastering them with ads. While the French company operates in more than 1,800 cities across the globe, from Berlin to Bangkok, it has just 3 percent of the U.S. market. “We’ve had to create a new way in,” says Decaux, co-chief executive of the company his father founded. More [HERE]