Graffiti Laws Make No Sense: NYPD Arrests Watercolor Artist for Painting Outdoors

Very interesting post on HyperAllergic, and well worth the read.

VIA HyperAllergic

A few days ago Brooklyn artist Julie Torres contacted Hyperallergic to let us know about a serious legal issue she was facing as a result of painting outdoors. She explained that on July 17, she was enjoying a summer afternoon in Williamsburg as she worked on a large watercolor painting that was taped to a construction wall at the corner of North 11th Street and Bedford Avenue, near Hyperallergic HQ. [More here]

Frequent Reader Questions

I just received this email and wanted wish the person who sent it luck. This is what PublicAdCampaign is ultimately about for me. Promoting and facilitating the public's interest and involvement in their public space. Though this happens through the use of outdoor advertising venues and frames, it is about enjoying the act of creation in our shared public spaces.

Hi Jordan, I am a frequent reader of public access campaign, and enjoy reading your posts

i recently watched your video about replacing the ads on the sides of phone booths, and am interested in trying it myself

i have a cordless drill, and am buying an tamper-proof bit set.

i have 2 questions,

1: do you know the size the ads are (for the sides), or should I just open one up myself and measure it to be sure

2: have you ever been arrested doing this? im trying to gauge the likelihood of this happening...do you think its smarter to do it in the dark, total stealth mode, or be in clear daylight posing as a van wagner worker.......it should only take like 30 seconds from start to finish im hoping...i plan on doing this around the east village...
have you ever had any trouble with undercover officers or people on the street getting pissed and confronting you?

thanks for your help man,

This is My Responses:

Fantastic! You should absolutely try it yourself. It is a wonderful way to spend an evening or afternoon becoming a more integral part of your city fabric. Please send me the results and I will post them immediately.

Answer 1:
The ads on the sides of NYC phone kiosks are 26'x50'. The ads on the back come in a few sizes depending on the type of kiosk they are in and should be measured accordingly. You can measure these without opening the kiosk, just add 1 inch to the length and height of the inside frame measurement.

Answer 2:
a) I have never been arrested doing advertising takeovers on the street. This does not mean it cannot, or will not happen. As you may or may not know, 4 people were arrested in the recent NYSAT project, although this was under special circumstances. When I have been stopped by NYPD, I have had to make an appearance before a judge. This appearance, all three times it has taken place, has resulted in 6 months of probation. Provided you are not caught committing similar acts within this 6 month period (which usually starts the day you were actually caught), your record is wiped clean.

b) The night or day question for me depends on one thing and that is whether or not the phone kiosk you are going to takeover is illuminated. You can obviously tell this easily at night, but if you are curious if a booth is illuminated during the day, simply cup your hands around your eyes and hold them tight to the kiosk. You will see the backliting this way, as the lights are not turned off or are on any sensor. If the booth is illuminated I would do your takeover during the day. Van Wagner and others do not, to my knowledge, replace ads during the night and an open illuminated kiosk is like a lighthouse, it can be seen for blocks. I have seen employees changing kiosk ads with and without safety vests so that choice is up to you. Provided the phonekiok is not illuminated, I would do things late at night.

c) Two of the Three times I have been stopped it was by undercover officers. Generally, people will pay little attention to what you are doing, unless you are removing a popular upcoming movie poster, in which case someone will probably ask you if they can have it.

If the Laws Aren't Enforced, Who Cares What The Laws Are?

This article from the NYCity NewsService, is about a bill being proposed to New York City which would legalize the now illegal practice called sniping. "The bill, proposed Council member Melinda Katz (D-Queens), would legalize advertising on construction sheds that cover sidewalks when buildings undergo exterior construction."

Sniping, or Wildposting, despite being illegal, is carried out on a daily basis by NPA City Outdoor and is happening while you read this. In fact, if you visit NPA's website, they will explain to you the different levels of sniping they offer, including Traditional Wildposting, Dedicated Locations, Dedicated Spectaculars, and City Wide Domination Buys. I find the language they use incredibly offensive and quite amazing. The last thing we want as a public are ads, "dominating" the city, and yet that is what is proposed.

Traditional Wildposting

Does no one realize that a law dedicated to preventing Wildposting does not matter and an article about whether the law will disappear in favor of outdoor advertising's abuse of public space is a completely moot point? If we see Wildposting all over the city on every surface, construction sites included, and the company doing the work is vocal about its practices, then for all intents and purposes these ads are not illegal to begin with. Clearly the city already condones this behavior.

I know having laws on the books criminalizing Wildposting activities would help us to combat the issue, if ever we decided it was time to clean the visual blight off our city streets. I get that. I cannot help but continue to see the law as a rouse crafted to appease the public while gifting the outdoor advertising industry full use of our public environment. This is especially true in light of the fact that 4 people were arrested by the NYPD, during the NYSAT project this last April. These individuals were trying to highlight the fact that NPA was operating illegally in our city and that our current law should allow the city to do something about it. Instead of being listened to these individuals spent the weekend in jail.

When laws are so blatantly disregarded by all parties involved, maybe they were never laws at all.

The Most Important Thing You Will Read About PosterBoy Yet Is A Lot Less about PosterBoy Than You Think

I would like to thank Steve Lambert and the AAA for their last post on PosterBoy regarding his arrest. Sometimes I am so busy trying to keep the content updated on this site, I forget that some of the important issues this content brings forward are not as obvious to the rest of the world as they are to me.

That said there has been a flurry of activity around PosterBoy these days. Much of the activity has dealt with his recent arrest. Magazines and press that have run their opinions recently include, The New York Times, The New York Post, The New York Press, The New Yorker, The Economist, Gothamist, Gawker, and soon El Pais in Spain. I'm sure this list does not include half the content PosterBoy has been able to create in the last six months through his simple yet incredibly affective idea.

So they have arrested PosterBoy, or so the story goes. And yet we have all missed the point PosterBoy is trying to make.

PosterBoy like many activist public space artists is trying to challenge the current state of our public environment. The very fact that his activities are criminal at all is a result of the power that outdoor advertising exercises over our public lives, and the lack of power that is given to individuals for whom this public space should function. (This public project is a good example of the good that comes about through public interaction with public space) What's almost too good to be true is that unlike other public artists, graffiti and street alike, his project directly questions this tenuous relationship. And still all we can pay attention to is whether or not he's really Henry Matyjewicz, and did he or did he not get arrested.

By all means I will be there Monday morning at Henry's court appearance, and I undoubtedly am frustrated by the fact that he had to spend time in jail at all. The mere fact that the Anti-Vandal squad, (a task force of 75) or whatever branch of the NYPD that was used to pull off an undercover sting operation to arrest someone who has single handedly created more dialogue about the use of our public space, is astounding. But lets forget for one minute the issue of his arrest and think about why he is in this position, and who might be a better candidate to take his place.

The city runs a special task force through the DOB called the Sign Enforcement Unit. Headed by Edward Fortier, 5 individuals attempt to handle the overwhelming proliferation of illegal advertisements in the city. In fact their only task is to handle billboards, and yet they are swamped by the herculean task set before them. Often it takes them months to even get to illegal billboard complaints like this one, and even once they have located an illegal billboard, many more months of legal negotiations in order to finally have it removed. The cost of this task force as well as the legal battles which must take place, is paid for by YOU AND ME! PosterBoys activities cost you and I nothing, and instead of advertising content, he brings you critical issues.

The best part about this, and what makes us arguing over who we think PosterBoy is even more ridiculous, is that we know the full names of every landlord which operates illegal signage in the city. That's right, all you have to do is type in the address of a building with signage on it, and you can see if there is a permit for the sign. If there is no permit, you have the full name of the person responsible. And yet here we are arresting one of the only people in our city trying to make us aware of this fact.

What makes this whole thing even more absurd is that PosterBoy, for all his concerted efforts to bring to light this important issue, has made not a single dollar and remains committed to not profiting directly from any of this activity. Juxtapose the millions of dollars being made by the operation of illegal signage in the city by individuals whose names we know and for whom we need no sting operations and undercover detectives, and you quickly see for whom the public space is operating.

It is our duty to PosterBoy, and all those individuals who have put their safety on the line to bring you face to face with this glaring issue, to channel our frustration and energy to outing the real issue at hand. Henry Matyjewicz is not only not PosterBoy, but the NYPD, by his arrest, has failed the public at large by ignoring the real culprits, and the motivation behind PosterBoy's activism.

When discussing PosterBoy, let us not forget to talk about the other vandals operating in our city. This all just makes me think of the woman in the KCET Billboard Confidential video Part 3 saying, "It doesn't really seem like anybody cares and I don't really believe the city is capable of doing anything about it." PosterBoy has made you think about it, now lets make our city capable of doing something about it.

Two sides to Every Coin-part 2

I figured PosterBoy should have a chance to answer the questions surrounding his arrest. We are happy to be able to provide PosterBoy the opportunity to tell his side of the story.

PAC-People are hearing rumors that you were arrested on Friday evening. Wanted to get the straight scoop directly from you.

PB-Henry Matyjewicz was arrested Friday night at 7:30pm, sent to central booking, then sent to Rikers. He was bailed on Sunday night, and was released Monday 2am.

PAC-Explain to everybody what you were doing the night of your arrest.

PB-Tossing back a couple of brewskies and watching Henry Matyjewicz get arrested for art crimes he didn’t commit.

PAC-Were you expecting a police presence at your first "real" exhibition in New York?

PB-First off the work was a live contribution from the Neo-Cons (Poster Boy, Aakash Nihalani, and Ellis Gallagher) to help raise money for Friends We Love. Since the flyer guaranteed Poster Boy’s presence we expected the police to come through.


Look at the piece that was put up. It would’ve been a success either way, but how “ironic” is that? Maybe too ironic. The party would’ve gone a lot smoother without an arrest, but it didn’t hurt the cause. It feels good to exploit the NYPD.

PAC-What were the police's reasons for arresting you?

PB-According to Henry they were trying to find Poster Boy. The plainclothes officers arrived around 7pm, like the flyer said, then started snooping around. They overheard Henry talking about the piece he helped install then arrested him. I reviewed the evidence presented by the NYPD through Henry’s account. They have a some random pics from the Lorimer stop on the L line of some vandalized advertisements and Henry’s grey hoody which is supposedly the same one from the youtube video. So basically they have nothing.

PAC-What is the best thing that's happened to you since being in jail?

PB-Henry’s arrest helped propagate the ideas behind Poster Boy. I hear the new Poster Boy movie is set to come out this summer. I hope it’s a trilogy. Thank you NYPD and Henry.

PAC-Did anyone buy the now notorious "the neocons did it" piece that you were making especially for the exhibition?

PB-No physical work of Poster Boy will ever be sold or privately owned. The piece will be recycled and used for other work.

PAC-In your own words, what does this arrest mean to you and in relation to your work?

PB-More visibility. This will help the public see and understand the issues at hand. It’s unfortunate that Henry was arrested, but there comes a time in a person’s life when their beliefs are put to the test. Henry Matyjewicz passed with flying colors.

PAC-Any last thoughts you might like to ad?

PB-The only thing that could match the NYPD’s shit investigation is the New York Post’s shit reporting.

PB-Of course I’m not surprised. It’s the New York Post.

Two sides to Every Coin-part 1

Here is the official NY Post account of PosterBoy's arrest.

If you're one of the subway system's most-wanted - but anonymous - vandals, it may be a good idea to keep your mouth shut.

A guerrilla "artist" known as "Poster Boy," who cuts up and rearranges subway advertisements into designs of his own, was busted after an undercover officer overheard him bragging to a girl about his exploits at a party, sources said.

Henry Matyjewicz, 27, of Bushwick, Brooklyn, was arrested Friday at an art show at a SoHo loft that featured his work and was hosted by a group called Sly Art vs. Robot City.

Transit police had gotten a tip that Matyjewicz would be at the party, advertised as "The Friends We Love Festival," and sent the undercover officer, the sources said.

Poster Boy's work has caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage to ad campaigns, and he has long been a thorn in New York City Transit's side.

But not knowing what he looked like, the officer was able to nab him only after he overheard the artist/vandal bragging to the girl, the sources said.

He was charged with counts of criminal mischief, graffiti and possessing a tool to make graffiti. He was also held on a warrant for shoplifting in Manhattan last August, court records show.

Matyjewicz was held on $750 bail. No one answered the door at his Brooklyn apartment last night or at the loft where the party was held.

Matyjewicz had recently made efforts to become part of the mainstream art scene.

In a recent interview with the Web site Gothamist, the former art-school student boasted he was so well known for his work that "I have Vandal Squad officers hounding me for autographs."