Billboards bridging two realities

VIA: Vandalog

Over 2.3 million people are currently held in American prisons, jails, and detention facilities. Many of them will be there for years, even for life. In most states, even juveniles can be put in solitary confinement, and visitation is becoming more difficult and expensive. It’s another world, largely cut off from the rest of us. A recent series from Know Hope aims to take one small step at bridging that gap. More [HERE]

The Rising Tide Creeps Closer to the Shore

Robert Montgomery Install Photo for Brandalism

About a month ago I was asked to contribute some work to an upcoming billboard takeover project in the UK called Brandalism. Without all that much information to go on, I was told there would be an international list of artists contributing and that the project looked to reclaim about 50 billboards. This morning I was happily surprised to see that the project had been completed and that 33 billboards had been reclaimed with the work of 24 incredible artists. With a line up including artists such as Ron English, OX, Robert Montgomery, Dr. D, Know Hope and many more, this project was a serious endeavor to put great work up in place of the trivial advertising content usually associated with these locations. 

While my personal interest has never been to replace ads with "good" art, this project shows just how affective quality imagery can be as a juxtaposition to the inane content we are used to. With projects like NYSAT, ToSAT, MaSAT, Artung!, cARTography and now Brandalism (and many more), it seems a rising tide of opposition to the over branding and public space abuse we have become so comfortable with is finally gaining momentum. The language all of these projects share does not suggest that somehow artists want representation as much as they want to call into question the medium we have chosen to surround ourselves with. What are the affects of a commercially saturated visual public environment? Can we imagine alternative uses for the public environment and in doing so strive to reach the utopian city we all deserve to live in as we move boldly into the future. 

View more of the Brandalism project as the site is updated with content over the next few days. (apparently my work is being reprinted as the cops muddled my install and my posters were abandoned for a safe continuation of the project…bummer)

"For years artists have learned the tactics and methods needed to create art works within the streets and we have the ability to use this creative potential to show others ideas, images and truths. The Brandalism project will be pushing the boundaries of appropriate acts of citizenship at a time of political, environmental and economic crises."

View the full site [HERE]

Know Hope In My Neighborhood

It's rare that I simply post street art on this site that doesn't in some way address outdoor advertising, but I couldn't resist myself in this case. The few times I do post street art are meant to illustrate more healthy uses of our shared spaces, and juxtapose the nature of public communication versus private advertising in our public environment.

That said, I just met Know Hope this past Sunday working on a project I'm not at liberty to talk about. He is currently showing at the Carmichael Gallery in L.A. Though he is originally from out west, he has lived in Israel since he was very young. An incredibly talented artist as well as poet, the combination of his characters and text leave me somber but hopeful. It is just this sort of poetry and communication that grounds me in the moment, and allows me to step back from the wonderful mind bending insanity that is New York City.