September 9, 2011
From Zevs:
"The photo above was taken in Room 233 at the Comfort Inn on 90 Maine Mall Road in South Portland ME.
It is the same room where the terrorists of September 11th stayed before attacking the World Trade Center.
This graffiti is visible only under UV light."
Posted by marc at 8:23 AM in Activism |
" the jordan
in the terminate thing. crashing , wings trashing.
flesh ripping, squashing , pigeon gasping
feeling trapped in. Laughing! still eyes flashing
Heroes dead collapsing,
is consume a religion , you asking
thoughts from my piegeonhole.".. Jaybo
Posted by marc at 8:18 AM in Activism |
September 2, 2011
More here.
Posted by marc at 8:05 AM in Activism |
August 30, 2011
From Luzinterruptus:
"This is our last intervention “Radioactive Control”. It was created for the Dockville Festival in Hamburg which tried to demonstrate, in a humorous tone, the paranoia that we are suffering from since the escape of radioactive material in Japan, has brought into question the safety systems at the nuclear power plants.
With our mysterious army of 100 illuminated radioactive figures, which advanced threateningly on the natural environment of the festival, we wanted to invite reflection regarding the use and abuse of nuclear energy, cheap in economic terms, but which can cause grave secondary effects for the environment and health, forever irreversible."
Posted by marc at 7:15 AM in Activism |
July 20, 2011
"Emily James spent over a year embedded in activist groups such as Climate Camp and Plane Stupid to document their clandestine activities. With unprecedented access, Just Do It takes you on an astonishing journey behind the scenes of a community of people who refuse to sit back and allow the destruction of their world.
Torpedoing the tired cliches of the environmental movement, Just Do It introduces you to a powerful cast of mischievous and inspiring characters who put their bodies in the way; they super-glue themselves to bank trading floors, blockade factories and attack coal power stations en-masse, despite the very real threat of arrest. Their adventures will entertain, illuminate and inspire."
Posted by marc at 6:33 AM in Activism |
Italian Vandal from Shafiur Rahman on Vimeo.
Posted by marc at 6:27 AM in Activism |
June 20, 2011
Photos nicked from here.
Posted by marc at 7:32 AM in Activism |
June 7, 2011
From Radya:
We live in the city, so the city is alive too.
Streets, buildings, windows – they emerge and disappear.
The Miloslavsky hospital had appeared a century ago thanks to the efforts of citizens – they’ve collected money and just built it.
Today, due to other people’s interests, next to the hospital emerged a building site.
It’s a usual story: offices. The first line of offices is close to the former operating-rooms, the second line, it seems, replaced those.
We are loosing it.
Maybe it will survive, maybe not. The hospital hardly has chances: it treats from inside, not outside.
A city has more life than any of us, but it is also more fragile – it’s in our hands.
It is strange to see how the building is dying, where people used to be returned to life.
Posted by marc at 7:46 AM in Activism |
June 1, 2011
Hacking the Bogota Book Fair from Fei An Tjan on Vimeo.
Posted by marc at 7:57 AM in Activism |
Posted by marc at 7:54 AM in Activism |
May 20, 2011
As many of you know, Sara and I are huge fans of Paul Harfleet and the Pansy Project. Paul's raising money for a Pansy Project publication via Crowdfunder. If you can, please help them out by donating here.
Posted by marc at 7:41 AM in Activism |
May 9, 2011
Posted by marc at 7:50 AM in Activism |
April 10, 2011
On March 31's Mutate Britain and artist Peter Dunne offered bankers in the bleeding heart of The City of London a white gloved service and 300 free signed original works.
Posted by marc at 8:24 PM in Activism |
April 6, 2011
This Saturday, "The Hypothetical Development Organization" officially kicks off in New Orleans with an opening at the Du Mois Gallery. "The Hypothetical Development Organization" identifys neglected-looking buildings and then dreams up "hypothetical" (absurd) futures for them. The idea is then rendered by a contributing artist, printed out on a sign and then placed on the original building -- exactly like a real "developers" sign, only more interesting.
Candy Chang, who we recently featured on the Wooster site, is among the contributors. Others include John Becker, Mark Clayton, Carey Clouse, Michael Doyle, Mauricio Espinosa, Christina Hilliard, Kirsten Hively, Nicole Lavelle, Sergio Humberto Padilla., Dave Pinter, Lauren Stewart, Meg Turner, and the SVA Masters in Branding Class of 2011
(Rendering By Humberto Padillo)
"The Radtke Reading Room."
"Radtke Reading Room And Archive. New Orleans anti-graffiti zealot Fred Radtke is (in)famous for paint-rolling gray splotches over street art, and if you spend any time in New Orleans you will see his work everywhere. Even Banksy has referenced him. (And Radkte himself has been arrested at least once -- for obliterating a legal mural). On some level Radkte’s splotches are his de facto “tag.” Indeed, one could argue that he is the all-out king of New Orleans; he’s tagged up the entire parish. In tribute, this building could serve as the new center of his operations. It is time to recognize Radkte’s role as a citywide bomber: When he goes up over your tag, he really goes up over your tag. Respect."
(Renderings by Kirsten Hively)
"Boutiques and artisinal products signal exclusivity, and thus economic vitality. Hypothetically, this building could be the workshop and boutique of the maker of artisanal velvet ropes. If you need a velvet rope, you don’t want just any old mass-produced velvet rope; you want a handmade, custom velvet rope, from a recognized velvet rope artisan. This classy and cutting-edge-looking business isn’t a fusty old velvet rope “shoppe,” it’s the place to get velvet ropes, as impressive and forward-thinking as those handmade by the trendiest velvet rope makers in Los Angeles, London, and Hong Kong."
Hypothetical Development Organization Opening Reception
Saturday, April 9 · 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Location
Du Mois Gallery
4921 Freret
New Orleans, LA
Click here to RSVP
Posted by marc at 7:05 AM in Activism |
April 4, 2011
We were honored to be asked to participate in the latest PublicAdCampaign project: the Madrid Street Ad Takeover project. Last Thursday at 5:30 AM over 106 messages replaced advertising in light boxes around Madrid. 4 teams of 16 dedicated folks took only one hour to complete the takeover. Though removed within about 5 hours, most were documented and can be found here. Luckily, there were no arrests.
Contributors were asked to send in text that was printed in black on a white background. People involved included artists, lawyers, teachers, sociologists and gallery owners. Everyone submitted a sentiment about what they would like to see in public space to create a vision of what the public environment could be.
Posted by marc at 8:04 AM in Activism |
March 25, 2011
To read the story behind this project, and to view more photos, check out Candy Chang's website here.
Posted by marc at 6:31 AM in Activism |
March 20, 2011
"People are pasting their own photos and covering all the walls where Ben Ali used to have his portrait so on VERY symbolic places.. it s incredible to be witness of the place of Art in a Revolution"... JR
Posted by marc at 8:20 AM in Activism |
March 16, 2011
Photo by Danny Howard
Photo by davitydave
From Eugenia, the Editor of MuniDiaries.com:
We saw your post about the yarn bomb in Philly, and guess what we found -- bus riders in SF take it a step further and actually bring their own seats to wait for the bus. People are bringing couches, swivel office chairs, stools, wicker garden chairs, you name it, so they can get a seat on the bus."
You can read the article here.
Posted by marc at 7:20 AM in Activism |
March 8, 2011
ZEIGER from █▀██▄█▀▀█ on Vimeo.
"A couple of months ago, ad-projectors appeared in a Berlin subway station, throwing moving images all over the station walls and lifting visual aggressiveness to a new level. Since the images were projected, we could get between projector and projection to fight this new quality of exaggerated advertisement with its own weapons. Minimalinvasive adbusting devices made of mirrors, magnets and quite some ducktape.".... █▀██▄█▀▀█
Posted by marc at 7:02 AM in Activism |
February 25, 2011
From our friends at Pictures On Walls comes news that Oleg Vorotnikov and Leonid Nikolaev from Russian art group VOINA have finally been released on bail.
POW tells us...
"In December, Oleg and Loenid were arrested for making some pretty racy public art pieces. After spending three and a half months in a St. Petersberg jail infested with scurvey and TB we're delighted to report that the pair have just been released.
Officials at their court hearing were apparently unaware more than 400 punters had bought a Banksy print and the proceeds had been transferred over. A judge set bail at 600,000 roubles (a pretty unattainable amount for the average Russian) but they were able to produce all the cash on the spot and the pair walked free."
Posted by marc at 12:09 PM in Activism |
February 14, 2011
The Pansy Project from Pixelbrix on Vimeo.
If you've ever attended one of our talks, than you've heard us speak about Paul Harfleet's Pansy Project. Paul's interventions, which confront violent acts of homophobia in an incredibly peaceful manner, is truly one of the great urban intervention projects of our generation.
Posted by marc at 6:27 AM in Activism |
February 9, 2011
Posted by marc at 6:59 AM in Activism |
January 26, 2011
Posted by marc at 7:11 AM in Activism |
January 2, 2011
"I've been re-purposing illegal condo ads from around and turning these into tents to put back out in the urban environment. Some have stayed up fully intact in prominent areas for more than a week now (even after rain and wind storms), and I've been continuing to do additional installs.
I've created a fake marketing campaign for the TENTs, including hacked condo sandwich boards of which I've collected more than twenty to date. It all culminates tomorrow at the closing event in the TENT "Presentation Centre" I put together here in Toronto. "... Sean
Posted by marc at 8:55 PM in Activism |
Sokak Savaşa Karşı | Streets Against The War from sokak savasakarsi on Vimeo.
The video above was shot on 294 walls in four different Turkish cities.
Posted by marc at 8:51 AM in Activism |
December 31, 2010
"This is the first in a series about empathy and homelessness. The idea is to draw dreamcatchers and put them up where homeless people sleep and go back at night to photograph them sleeping under it. My goal is in atlanta for the symbol of the dreamcatcher to become synonymous with empathy and gratitude. To see one outside even when no one is sleeping under it is to hopefully become thankful for what you have.
I got to talk to phil in the middle of putting this piece up. Hes been here for a long time and let me know that when the sun goes down thats where i can find him. We discussed the issue of homelessness and why atlanta is spending money on things other than a solution to housing them. I gave him a bottle of rum, canned food , some baked goods, and cigs. He insisted on shaking my hand even though it was covered in wheatpaste.
The next day when i was walking i saw him and he introduced me to his friend, gave me the biggest hug, and told me he loved me. Thats what its about. I could care less on how many views this gets my goal is already accomplished on a personal level. My hopes are to get a show built around a series of these and donate half of what i make to the specific person in the photo."... Ola Bad
Posted by marc at 3:01 PM in Activism |
December 23, 2010
Over the last few days Sara and I have read a lot, if not all, of the commentary that's been posted online about the abrupt removal of our friend Blu's mural on the exterior of Los Angeles' Museum of Contemporary Art. Understandably, almost all of the discussion has been focused on the seemingly rash decision by Jeffrey Deitch, the newly appointed Director of MOCA, to remove the mural immediately after it was completed without any opportunity for debate and dialogue to happen before it's removal.
Being a high profile and extremely colorful figure, it makes sense that Deitch would quickly become the focus of the blogosphere's vitriol. It was his sole decision to destroy the mural before the public could see it, and because the mural was commissioned and authorized, it can also be said to be an act of censorship. When you read the accounts of what happened, (as well as what didn't happen) it certainly seems that the criticism is justified. And we've contributed some of our own criticism to that dialogue, both publicly and privately.
But for us, this discussion about Blu's mural should be a lot more than just a vilification of Jeffrey Deitch and a show of support for Blu. For us, it has more to do with the fact that as time goes on, more and more of our museums fail to live up to the ideals that we have for them. We want, and expect, museums to defend our free speech. We want, and expect, museums to provide a home for provocative thought. We want, and expect, museums to provoke and inspire debate. What we should not want is for museums to be so constrained and commercial that they add very little to the public debate.
The reality is that fewer and fewer museums live up to our ideals. To keep their doors open, museums like MOCA need to appease powerful donors and mount shows that are commercial and bring in the masses. It's becoming rarer and rarer for museums to mount truly provocative shows that challenge us and change the course of our society.
When Sara and I were invited by the Tate Modern in 2008 to give a lecture and slide show as part of their Street Art show, we debated up until the last moment whether we would participate. Finding out that "the exhibition" was only murals on the exterior of the building and that there were no works of art inside, was a huge problem for us. It made the exterior murals more about marketing the Tate Modern than about doing a survey of the movement. The Tate Modern placed street art back at the kids table, rather than having it sit alongside the parents. Learning at the 12th hour that Nissan was a huge title sponsor without notifying any of the participants in advance of this, was another problem for us. But in the end we did participate. What we ended up doing was to (1) mention our concerns onstage and (2) make our slide show more provocative then we had first planned, feeling that our lecture would act as a sort of trojan horse for street art to actually enter the Tate while the Tate had excluded it.
When we did our 11 Spring exhibition in December of 2006, we mounted it inside a private building without any outside funding or public support. We had no brand sponsors and the show was completely free to visitors. It would not have been possible, for many reasons, to mount that same show in a museum. And while the show had a bit of its own controversy, with people questioning the motives of the new owner of the building as well as some questioning our own curatorial decisions, the show was exactly what we wanted it to be with absolutely zero compromises.
Ironically, immediately after 11 Spring's three day run, we were contacted by New York City officials asking us to help them to learn how shows like 11 Spring could be done by public institutions. We told them we didn’t believe that it could be done, for the very reasons why Blu's wall was removed.
But the bottom line is this - EVERY artist wants to be recognized by their peers and the public at large. One would be hard-pressed to find any artist – including graffiti and street artists – who didn't want to do everything they could to be included in a museum's collection. Museums mean that you are part of history. All artists want to be part of history, especially graffiti and street artists.
To judge something that you're not a part of, before you've seen the final result, is not a practice that Sara and I engage in. So we, even now, have no ability or desire to judge or critique the upcoming street art show that Deitch and MOCA will mount in April. But certainly the removal of Blu's wall doesn't signal that the show itself will be very daring and provocative.
Our hope is that the final outcome from all of the discussion this month about Blu, Deitch, MOCA, and censorship is that it will become a clear catalyst for Deitch, the curators, and the artists, to be even more daring with their work and its message INSIDE, knowing now that this will not be the case OUTSIDE.
Posted by marc at 5:22 PM in Activism |
December 22, 2010
From Epos 257:
The appropriation of public space with no apparent intent
Duration: 54 days (September 04 - October 27, 2010)
Location: Palackeho square, Prague - the so-called "Czech Hyde Park" - allegedly the most liberal spot in the country, approved by the authorities for holding any unannounced public gatherings.
Have we grown accustomed to having our living space curbed by just anyone? Is public space a mere myth?
In the current society, our living space is defined by legal norms and regulations, the same way as fences demark the choices of our free movement.
Only by attempting to cross those boundaries, we learn how limited the space we live in really is - that we are not as free as it may initially seem. We are getting the sense that the individuality of today is destined to an existence amidst restrictions.
Posted by marc at 7:10 AM in Activism |
From K-Guy: "the 'No Blood' image is a piece that explores the clean white shirt: the uniform of the rich and the powerful, with a narrative of interweaving concepts of big business, corporate greed, the politics of war, freedom and 'truth'. The stains of suffering will always be visible"
Posted by marc at 6:56 AM in Activism |
December 17, 2010
A lot of people have asked us about our thoughts regarding Jeffrey Deitch removing Blu's "Coffins and Dollar Bills" mural from the MOCA fascade. It's been a crazy week, so we made some comments on Twitter. We hope to have something up on the site this weekend about it.
Posted by marc at 7:48 AM in Activism |
December 14, 2010
"This is the first in what will be an ongoing series of temporary installations with these retroreflective cardboard letters. They'll be installed all around the city of Windsor, Ontario to attempt to generate some conversation and creative thinking around how we can indeed make this (place) better. "... Justin, Broken City Lab
Posted by marc at 8:06 AM in Activism |
December 13, 2010
From No Touching Ground:
"On August 30th Seattle resident John T. Williams was shot and killed by a police officer seemingly for possessing a carving knife. Williams was a seventh generation Ditidaht totem carver. In addition to his carving knife, which was within legal limits for blade length, Williams was carrying a piece of wood. He was also deaf in one ear, and partially crippled. Witnesses stated that he didn’t seem to understand when the officer told him to drop the knife, and that there was nothing aggressive or violent about Williams' behavior. John T. Williams was shot in the back and side, his carving knife was found shut beside him, challenging the officers testimony that Williams had lunged at him with an open blade. The investigation is on going.
Seattle street artist No Touching Ground uses narrative images to write the natural world back into the urban landscape. This mural is but one chapter of a larger series the artist has created as part of the conversation on social justice in Seattle. The John T. Williams piece is more than a metaphor, it is a memorial, dedicated to those caught between conflicting worlds, living fully in neither. "
Posted by marc at 7:19 AM in Activism |
December 11, 2010
Earlier this morning, on the Pictures on Walls website, Banksy launched one of his largest print releases to date.
But what makes this public sale even more interesting is that Banksy has chosen the legal defense fund of the underground Russian artist collective VOINA to be the recipient of all of the proceeds from the sale.
If you're not familiar with VOINA, two of its members are currently in jail in
St Petersburg for drawing a massive penis on a bridge opposite KGB headquarters. The action was a protest of police corruption.
‘Choose your weapon’, the print Banksy made available this morning comes in an edition of 100 on grey, plus a smaller edition of red, blue and green (25 each).
To purchase one simply click here.
Posted by marc at 8:02 AM in Activism |
December 6, 2010
Posted by marc at 6:50 AM in Activism |
December 3, 2010
From Patrick:
Another day without a dollar.
Many small independent mom and pop businesses have been closing up left and right all across the United States. All that is left behind is a cold empty vacant space. Martinez utilizes the space to engage the viewer or passer by on the street with a colorful visual dialog and touching on what people are going through finically during the current recession. Painting portraits of his own parents and placing the words " trying to make a dollar out of 14 (16) cents." over the paintings in bright saturated neon letters. Remixing typical Los Angeles neon signs and introducing the traditional painting element into the mix.
Posted by marc at 9:30 AM in Activism |
November 1, 2010
'Yes on 19' San Francisco Wheatpasting from chicken milk on Vimeo.
Posted by marc at 5:34 AM in Activism |
October 18, 2010
From Michael Aaron Williams:
"This series are all done on cardboard and depict the homeless. They are put up and are able to be taken down so that they can be taken home. They are therefore extremely delicate. Its interesting because just like the actual homeless, the people on the street ignore the pieces and many times see no worth in them. However, Some people have and are encouraged to take these home where the pieces can survive."
Posted by marc at 6:50 AM in Activism |
October 10, 2010
You Are What You Do from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.
Invisible Children use art and activism to help end Africa's longest running war. The mural in this video was made over the period of a couple days in order to rally people to raise funds for their Schools for Schools program.
Posted by marc at 7:46 AM in Activism |
October 4, 2010
The video above explains a method of creating art developed by the Sao Paulo based artist Alexandre Orion. He calls them "Pollugraphies". The technique captures the soot directly from car exhaust pipes to produce images on canvas. Each piece is exposed to the pollution for a week. If the truck shakes hard, the piece gets damaged. If it rains, the piece is gone. Orion produces an average of 4 pieces to save only one.
Posted by marc at 7:29 AM in Activism |
September 24, 2010
Budapest, Hungary
Nantes, France: "Entendre l'infini à perte de vue" - "hear infinity as far as the eye can see".
Posted by marc at 7:08 AM in Activism |
September 21, 2010
"i recycled election posters from the latest Philippine election. i printed the reversed side with the design of Philippine Cash ticket. added the word "crisisytem" below and replaced the the ticket amount with an inverted logo of a famous market in the Philippines"... koloWn
Posted by marc at 7:11 AM in Activism |
September 20, 2010
Artist: K•GUY
Posted by marc at 7:02 AM in Activism |
Posted by marc at 6:32 AM in Activism |
September 16, 2010
"The Last Polar Bear, a public art piece created by Bryan Snyder, interacts with its environment amidst the development of a previously open lot of land. This project’s goal is to showcase the relationship between a piece of art and its location when placed in the streets while highlighting the effects of global warming, deforestation and other current environmental concerns."
Posted by marc at 7:27 AM in Activism |
September 12, 2010
"Marking the back to school term, Preventable together with BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation and the District of West Vancouver have launched an optical illusion geared to making drivers slow down at high-risk intersections.
The optical illusion of an illustrated girl chasing a ball has been placed on the road northbound at 22nd street in West Vancouver. There are signs leading up to it saying "you're probably not expecting kids to run out on the road" to prepare drivers. The installation is meant to draw attention to the risk of children running into the street and was carefully tested before being put in place. It is in place for a few days only and is being monitored as a pilot to ensure pedestrian and driver safety are not risked. The illusion rises up gradually from about 100 feet away as not to surprise drivers, and it fades away by the time a driver approaches.
For more details on how we're shifting attitudes and raising awareness about preventable injuries, visit http://www.preventable.ca
From the organizers:
* Preventable, BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation, and the District of West Vancouver launched this pilot project as a back to school initiative to raise awareness about more kids on the streets this fall and drivers’ awareness in school zones during the critically important first week of back to school. This project will exist for one week only to capture drivers’ and pedestrians’ attention.
* We started in April 2010 with careful consideration and planning that included discussions with the District of West Vancouver, parents, the school board, engineers, and police.
* The District of West Vancouver engineers have done a full risk assessment of this initiative and are supportive of the concept and its implementation. Their helpful and professional advice led to additional safety measures including additional static and dynamic signage in advance of the image and a police presence. On-site monitoring of motorist behaviour has since confirmed that there has been absolutely no evidence of abrupt stopping or swerving by motorists. The police, traffic engineers, parents, and Preventable have been monitoring, and will continue to monitor, traffic around this 3D illusion.
* The 2D decal gradually appears 3D to drivers approaching the image. A risk assessment of this project shows that drivers do not mistake this image for a real girl and can see the image 100 feet away. The image does not “jump-out” at drivers and there is no “startling effect”, the road conditions on 22nd Street are very good for this project, which is precisely why this location was selected. Sight lines are perfect northbound along the road and to the cross streets. Although the community continuously grapples with unsafe driving behaviours in this particular school zone, twenty-second (22nd) Street in West Vancouver has a very good vehicle crash record. The number of crashes since 1996 (the earliest year for which we have records) is insignificant. This is was also an important criteria in choosing the site as the best location for the project.
* Preceding the illusion are clearly marked school zones signs (30 KM maximum speed limit), a cross walk, traffic calming curb extensions in advance of the illusion, and a Preventable signs that read, “You’re probably not expecting kids to run out on the road.” There is also a STOP sign at the end of the block. All these factors mean that motorists are slowing in anticipation of stopping regardless of the 3D illusion.
* A public awareness program was started in advance of implementation of this project to inform drivers and the general public of the image.
(via Laughing Squid)
Posted by marc at 4:29 PM in Activism |
September 10, 2010
"Inspired by John Fekner's critiques of urban decay and borrowing from the technique of Andy Uprock these installations draw attention to the empty industrial spaces littering even picturesque little cities like Hobart, Australia. The idea was simply to draw attention to the spaces which stand neglected rather than to beautify them.".... Tabasco
Posted by marc at 7:35 AM in Activism |
August 28, 2010
Posted by marc at 8:18 PM in Activism |
From Charushin:
"i did this action in Moscow in August 2d when the day of Air Assault Forces takes place. It used to be very brutal and aggressive day when former and current members of AAF get totally drunk and destroy everything/beat whoever they want. They are allowed to do it by government (because for government it's easier to allow such one-day-anarchy than pay them good salary and bring some changes into corrupted and demoralized army). Many people (especially colored) don't leave their home this day because it's quite dangerous. Others are afraid to pass these places where the AAF members are hanging over.
One of their favorite entertainment is swimming in the fountains. I colored water in one of them in pink color. Color of love and tenderness. These guys always have not enough love and affection"
Posted by marc at 8:01 PM in Activism |
July 21, 2010
"The Vancouver Transit Adspace Re-appropriation Project, or V-TARP, intends to reclaim the highly sought after mindspace used by corporations to communicate with the public, by collecting artworks from across the globe and installing them in the transit adspace."
Posted by marc at 8:16 AM in Activism |
Date: 18th July 2010 8.45am
Title: "Wish you were here?..."
Site: Southend-on-Sea High Street, Southend-on-Sea, Essex.UK.
The mermaid sculpture was almost surrounded by Ground coffee, coffee beans, coffee house cups and ephemera. I liked the idea of her drowning in this stuff"...Laura
Posted by marc at 8:00 AM in Activism |
Posted by marc at 7:52 AM in Activism |
July 7, 2010
"Jay Shells is the man behind Subway Etiquette, a new project that uses silk screen signs, which look identical to official transit signs, to speak not just to New Yorkers but all commuters, asking for a simple thing: Respect. Jay’s signs request that the reader does not do things like eat messy foods, preach their own religious beliefs or cut their toenails while riding the subway. What seems to be common sense is actually happening at every turn - bothering everyone around them. However our own concern with politeness keeps us from speaking up. We follow Jay from his silk screening studio in The New School, through the stairwells and tunnels of the New York Subway System, posting signs that hopefully remind us all to be a little more courteous. "
Posted by marc at 9:01 PM in Activism |
July 1, 2010
From Elmaks:
"The future of the Turcot Interchange has been a hot topic of discussion over the past year, with community groups, urban planners, citizens and politicians arguing over which plan for the interchange's remodelling is best. Current plans call for the expropriation and demolition of some 200 homes in a neighborhood that has been hard-hit by megaproject expansions.
To top it all off, a city politician who ran on a platform of openness and transparency has taken over the Turcot planning issue and shut out almost all community groups. So I made these posters in order to try and bring the Turcot Interchange and its future back into the public eye... This is the first in a series of posters I'm doing which will feature alternate futures for the Turcot."
Posted by marc at 7:05 AM in Activism |
June 30, 2010
From Ronen:
"Around the city of Lublin Poland, on empty buildings as well as inhabited ones, in the alleys of the old city and on streets of the newer parts, I posted photos of different examples of Jewish people who lived on these streets in these houses of the center of Lublin in between in the nineteen twenties 'till 1941.
In a modest gesture, I return the people in the photos to the place they were taken. The photos show all kind of Jews. Young, old, modern, religious, political activist, Bundist, Zionist, nihilists, bourgeois, Hasidic, yeshiva student, communist, who knows? In some photos the identity is clearly visible, while in others it’s not so clear.
Near the photos appear different questions in polish:
Czy zawsze czu?e? si? inny od swoich przyjació?? / Have you always felt different from your friends?
Czy w twojej rodzinie jest wielka tajemnica? / Does your family hide a great mystery/secret?
Czy twoja babcia mamrocze w obcym j?zyku przez sen? / Does your grandmother mumble in her sleep in a foreign tongue?
Jakim ?ydem jeste?? What kind of Jew are you?
The project was made as part of the Open City Festival – Festival of art in public spaces. Lublin, Poland. curator: Krzysztof Zwirblis / Studio Gallery
Posted by marc at 6:14 AM in Activism |
June 29, 2010
The Freedom Charter from rowan pybus & faith47 on Vimeo.
Posted by marc at 8:25 AM in Activism |
June 20, 2010
"This year Portland has been robbed of our summer and the past few months have seen almost constant rain. But when the sun does make a rare appearance a group of us have been painting murals at Dignity Village. Dignity Village is the country's first city-sanctioned homeless encampment. Now much more than the tent village that it started as, Dignity Village is a place for homeless individuals to find stable housing and resources while looking for work and permanent housing. Next month they will celebrate their 10th anniversary.
In an effort to strengthen the relationship between Dignity Village and local artists, to protect houses from the weather, and to brighten people's days, the mural project links artists with residents to paint murals in the village. The late start to summer has been the only thing holding us back. When we do get some sunshine a group of us head out there to paint and as more murals happen the more requests we get from the residents to do their homes"...Klutch
Posted by marc at 4:01 PM in Activism |
"I just got back from my first trip to Haiti. I'm working to develop a sustainable building project in the village of Barriere Leudi, in collaboration with a group of artists, builders, architects, and engineers - and with the Mango Grower's Association in Barriere Jeudi.
After the Quake, Ben Wolf, Olivia Katz, and I were asking ourselves how we as a small group of individuals could contribute to the situation there, especially with regard to so many people losing their homes. We knew that there would be many big NGO's doing projects large and small, but that there would still be room, and even need, for focused contributions on a person to person scale. So, we spent the last 5 months developing the Konbit Shelter project. We will be working to adapt the Super-Adobe building technique to the climate of Haiti, and building some structures in this Leogane village, starting with a community center, and moving on to housing of all works out.
Take a look at our site here, we will be posting more detailed updates soon!"... Swoon
Posted by marc at 3:46 PM in Activism |
May 25, 2010
More from AP here.
Posted by marc at 7:09 AM in Activism |
May 18, 2010
The Baltimore Love Project consists of 20 love themed murals that are currently being painted around different parts of Baltimore City.
Posted by marc at 7:39 AM in Activism |
May 14, 2010
The video above documents a fence weaving project that took place in a public housing development in Louisville, KY.
Posted by marc at 7:47 AM in Activism |
May 12, 2010
(click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)
From Radya:
"Here in Ekaterinburg (it's a big industrial city in center of Russia, here is physical border (Ural mountains) between Europe and Asia) we don't have much info about world street art scene, and your news is really important for us. so we try to do some experiments in our city
this is a project about Second World War. 9 May, Day of Victory, is a really important for russian people, we lost about 20 millions in this war. For russians it's really free from political propaganda, just because every family in country participates in war. For example my grandfather was 7 years old, when first nazi bombers attack their village in Ukraine, and grandfathers of my friends reached Berlin in 1945.
ps: sorry for my English, i'm trying to learn it. :)
Here is text for my project:
"After the war"
Posters are made of pictures taken throughout the years of war. The first - the Flag over Reichstag, 1945 - this picture became a real symbol of a victory The second - a portrait of the guerrilla, 1943
I've decided to do that when I felt one thing:
We did not loose the country, but we lost a great, an incredible number of people
They just disappeared, left, they're gone Vanish into something bigger than emptiness - as when the person who remembered a great amount of already forgotten people, is gone and now they are gone together with him, forever. Like old cracked photos, on which you can still see faces, but you do not know who are they"
Posted by marc at 7:27 AM in Activism |
(click to enlarge)
From Dre Urhahn and Haas&Hahn of Favela Painting:
"Our latest work in Rio de Janeiro. It's called Praça Cantão and spans over 34 houses, covering 7000 square meters. We are slowly moving towards our goal: painting an entire favela and we're getting closer and closer.
Over the last month, Praça Cantão, the square at the entrance of the community of Dona Marta was turned into a vibrant artwork of monumental scale. 34 houses on the giant hillside favela, located in the center of Rio de Janeiro, have been painted in a design of colorful rays, radiating into the city. This 7000 square meter artwork is part of the 'Favela Painting' project by Haas&Hahn (Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn), a project that aims to transform communities into landmarks and inspirational monuments as a part of Rio’s image, next to the statue of Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf mountain.
Realization of the artwork is largely driven by the inhabitants of Dona Marta. 25 local youth have been trained as painters, providing for their own income and being responsible for turning their own neighborhood into a colorful monument. This grassroots method of working has proven to be successful in earlier projects, and gives the local community empowerment, pride and color. The local team is complemented by three painters from another favela, Vila Cruzeiro, where two of the previous projects by Haas & Hahn took place.
The project has thusfar been financed through grants and donations, but a co-operation with the dutch paint company AkzoNobel might open new doors. A meeting with their Managing Director Tex Gunning, showed they had a shared vision. “They wanted to give color to the community”, Dre recalls, “and we wanted to give art to the community. I see no reason why we cannot recreate this idea across 300 houses, 3000 houses, whether its in Rio, Johannesburg, Mumbai or anywhere in the world.”
About Favela Painting
In 2006, the Dutch artists Jeroen Koolhaas en Dre Urhahn conceived the idea of creating community-driven art interventions in Brazil. Named ‘Favela Painting’, their first efforts yielded two murals which were painted in Vila Cruzeiro, Rio's most notorious slum. The first mural is entitled ‘boy with kite’ and has a surface of 150 m2. The second mural proved to be more challenging, with a surface of 2000 m2. Painted on a staircase in the heart of Vila Cruzeiro, it depicts a flowing river with Koi Carp fishes in the style of a Japanese tattoo, designed together with Rob Admiraal. The artworks for the murals are painted in collaboration with the local youth. Training and paying them as painters, learning them the tricks of the trade and empowering them by contributing to the development of the artwork. These projects received worldwide press coverage and have become points of pride both within the community and throughout Rio.
Using a grassroots-based bottom-up approach has proven to be a key factor in the success and final results. In order to generate support and approval for their activities, the artists always make the favela their home. By spending their time within the local community, they’re able to connect to their surroundings more easily, winning the hearts and minds of people. In their point of view, the inhabitants of the favela are a legitimate part of the city, but not seen that way from the outside. Using these beliefs, they work with the locals to paint the artworks, literally helping them changing the face of their community. Over the years, inhabitants of the favela’s have become aware of this method, and are actively requesting their favela to be turned into an artwork. As one woman from Vila Cruzeiro put it: ‘I’ve never been to a museum in my life, and now I’m living in one’.
Favela Painting is supported by the Firmeza Foundation in the creation of striking artworks in unexpected places. It collaborates with the local community to use art and color as a tool to inspire, create beauty, combat prejudice and attract attention. The Foundation facilitates the worldwide realisation of art interventions, and looks after their maintenance. It also develops relevant spin-off projects in the areas of education, socio-economic / social support and development of local people involved in the projects.
As of March 2010, Favela Painting has established a collaboration with AkzoNobel’s decorative paint division. Based on their mission of “adding colour to people’s lives”, AkzoNobel intends to participate in an inspiring and meaningful manner in local communities in the countries in which it operates. The objective of the cooperation between both parties is to realise worldwide, large scale “community driven” works of art. Works of art that make a colourful difference in the lives of individuals, groups, communities and cities. Works of art that have the potential of inspiring others elsewhere, that leave an indelible impression and can work as a catalyst in the processes of social renewal and change.
Posted by marc at 7:20 AM in Activism |
May 5, 2010
From The Province: "Activists have entangled two sculpted porpoises in a giant plastic six-pack ring to protest the use of throwaway plastic and its impact on West Coast marine and wildlife.
The downtown Vancouver demonstration has been organized by the Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) and Vancouver advertising agency Rethink. The PPC is trying to draw attention to the fact that plastic pollution covers millions of square kilometres of ocean in the North Pacific and in the North Atlantic. Scientists expect to find similar accumulation areas in the remaining oceanic gyres. There is no known way to clean up the plastic pollution in the oceans as the plastic particles are very small and circulate throughout the entire water column.
The giant plastic rings were originally set up to strangle a wildlife statue at Georgia and Thurlow, but a building manager at that site asked the organizers to move their protest elsewhere. The environmentalists have since set up their exhibit in front of the Scotiabank building at Pender and Burrard."
Posted by marc at 6:39 AM in Activism |
April 30, 2010
"A protest against the misuse of Australian soldier icons by big business. Lasted one week. :)"
Will Coles
Posted by marc at 7:31 AM in Activism |
From Poster Child:
"I installed this piece yesterday!
It’s in a so-called “Info-To-Go” Pillar at University and Dundas! Only a few steps from the police station! :0
I wrote in 2008 about these pillars, and the rest of the Coordinated Street Furniture program in general, and that is a good place to go for background on this project, but I’ll get into more detail here about these “Information” Pillars specifically: 120 are due to be rolled out across Toronto- according to the cities website, 28 have been installed thus far.
They are an embarrassment and a shame for Toronto. Toronto is a great city, but we have a bad reputation amongst the rest of our nation. That isn’t anything new. We are thought of as a cold, ugly city obsessed with profit and completely bereft of culture. I live here, I love it here, and I know that image of us just isn’t true- but what other impression will we give to tourists and visitors to our city when we can’t even manage, as a city- the biggest in Canada I’ll remind you, to erect a simple post with tourist information and a map on it without succumbing to the temptation to privatize it and turn it into a profit-making venture? These “Information booths” are strictly billboards first, and tourist information second- and a distant second at that. The pillars are structured and oriented so that the ads get the best visibility and well over double the surface area. In fact, in most cases you would walk right past these ugly streetlevel billboards without ever realizing that it was SUPPOSED to be a tourist information pillar, never suspecting that there was a map tucked into the back, along with map dispensers- and in some cases- interactive touch screens. About those screens- I imagine that no one really ever expected the fancy hi-tech touch screens (How Toronto!) to operate indefinitely, but even I was taken aback when they were installed not working. They didn’t work from DAY ONE. They have NEVER worked. You can go check. Have a look at this booth I improved. The screen is dead. The map dispenser? It’s LED screen scrolls “SOLD OUT” and someone has posted the helpful label “Coming Soon” (Presumably, So you don’t waste your toonie on tourist information that actually won’t ever be coming.) The advertisements, of course, have been operational since the day the pillar has been installed. Like the streetlevel billboards masquerading as phonebooths in New York: As billboards, these pillars always work.
At least the scrolling LEDs at the top of the pillar give the time, right? It’s just too bad that the time displayed is incorrect by an hour.
But what more can we expect when we give the job of providing tourist information to a media giant? These companies are in the business of exploiting public space for profit, not in the business of enhancing
your experience of it for pleasure. They tell tourists what to buy, not where to go for free walking tours.
Toronto is spending tons of money selling itself as a cultural place. Events, promotions, slogans: we are told that we “Live With Culture”- and yet at the same time the city is defeating it all with short-sighted stupid moves like this. Yes, it’s just street furniture. But street furniture has such a huge impact on how our city looks and feels. It shapes it on the ground, it makes the first impression, and it continuously shapes further impressions as we explore the streets and all the sights and sounds that they have to offer.
And if we ever get lost in our explorations, we can always go to the nearest “info to go” pillar and find out what perfume we ought to be wearing.
(As you can see from the nightime shots that.. ah.. reveal which ads I.. harvested in order to make this work [I can't afford all that printing! Plus Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Right?] in this case, that perfume would be Marc Ecko.)
Of course, tourist information pillars should be providing a map and helping the lost AT MINIMUM. They should also provide some information on local lore, landmarks, and legends. So what I’ve done is fix this pillar (something I just couldn’t do with the broken payphones of New York) it is now, at least for the time being, a true tourist information pillar. It currently informs passersby that care to look, in the two official languages, about the nearby Canada Life Building and it’s weather beacon in brief. I hope it shows just a little of the great proud history and culture that we have to offer here in Toronto, and also how a different way is not only possible, but easily achieved. Imagine the rich possibilities if every future “info to go” pillar actually showcased some site-specific local history and knowledge?"
Posted by marc at 7:21 AM in Activism |
April 28, 2010
Posted by marc at 8:00 AM in Activism |
April 10, 2010
Posted by marc at 4:46 AM in Activism |
April 6, 2010
Astoria Scum River Bridge from Jason Eppink on Vimeo.
Posted by marc at 7:55 AM in Activism |
April 5, 2010
"At 12am April 1st, a group of "hactivists" and concerned public citizens infiltrated and hijacked the largest outdoor led screen in the north of England in Manchester for an April Fools day insurrection. The screen - all 7 stories of it, was subverted to display a different message to the 300,000 commuters that allegedly see the advertisements daily. The intervention stayed for 24 hours costing the fat cats over £30,000 of lost revenues"...The Dead Peasants
Posted by marc at 8:15 AM in Activism |
From Nazza stencil:
"The sadness and the happiness that walked side to side.
The carnival that is celebrated in Río de Janeiro is famous for samba's schools which parade opposite to the spectators named "sambódromo".
The complete city transforms in what goes from the second week of february to celebrate the carnival.
Throughout the world known as "carnival of Río de Janeiro", the most attractive popular and tourist of brazil.
In Brazil also dies an average of 100 persons a day, which turns to the country into the world champion into absolute number of deaths of this nature, overcoming to countries in conflict as Irak, Israel / Palestina and Colombia.
Only the Brazilian state of Río de Janeiro accumulates 7.027 violent deaths between January and November of 2009, as has reported the regional government.
The police of the city kill three persons every day in R.J.
The images of this artwork generated polemic in the opinions reflected by the local mass media.
Painted en February, 2010 in Brazil with great acceptance on the part of the people who understood that the sadness and the happiness travel side to side in the daily life of the Brazilians."
Posted by marc at 7:20 AM in Activism |
March 29, 2010
What happens when you place a wipeable life-size Prime Minister with a provocative empty speech bubble on the south bank opposite The Houses of Oarliament?
This interactive installation marking the upcoming election put freedom of speech in the hands of the public, and provided tourists with an up close and personal interaction with the man himself. This is the third in the series of Street Art Installations called "Glasnost UK" by Street Artist "Contra". A series of interactive installations that engage the public in playful way and aim to inspire creativity, openness, freedom of speech, and sometimes general amusement.
(Public Participation in the Video in order:
Man: An umbrella to the heart during installation
Italian tourists: "Hello Dear Bato"
Two Girls: Devil horns a missing tooth and a beard were drawn on to his head and face.
Father and young daughter: *Devil features removed* "Happy Birthday Helen"
*Corrected* "Happy Birthday Mum"
Large group and man before security *Bubble Win* "I Bow to you Obama"
(Unfortunately due to the location, the duration of Mr Brown was short lived to 32 Minutes, as he was later removed by security. Close ups in photos at the end)
Posted by marc at 6:26 AM in Activism |
Posted by marc at 5:48 AM in Activism |
March 22, 2010
Rebel:Art points us to this terrific public dialogue between mobstr and the Newcastle City Council back in late 2007.
Posted by marc at 10:58 AM in Activism |
March 11, 2010
Photo by Remi Carreiro/Torontoist
Torontoist has a terrific article on a series of site specific stencils that have appeared over the last few days on Harbord Street. Words like "OUCH!" "THUNK!" "OOF!" "YIPE!" have been painted to highlight to cyclists the deep potholes and cracks along the paths. The stencils were done by Urban Repair Squad.
Torontoist quotes a member of the Squad as saying:
"The action-hero drama of dodging obstacles and potholes, escaping devil-may-care drivers in super-fast cars, and braving the fierce, temperamental elements, may seem, and feel, quite comic. Unless you're face-down on the pavement. With some wit, we endeavour to provide warning with humour; suggest danger with comedy; invite caution without frightening...and most importantly, we appeal to our fine city to remember that potholes aren't just uncomfortable, they really, really hurt."
For more photos, and to read the full article, click here.
Posted by marc at 7:39 AM in Activism |
March 10, 2010
Posted by marc at 1:46 PM in Activism |
February 23, 2010
n May over 250 resin elephants will hit the streets of London for the Elephant Parade. The video above is the first of three short films showing the making of one of them. Founders of The Treatment Rooms Baroness Carrie von Reichardt and the Loving Mr Spunky combine their artistic skills with Nick Reynolds and Eugene Eebrill to make their one, named Phoolan.
Posted by marc at 1:56 AM in Activism |
January 28, 2010
Specter's latest project, a series of hand painted billboards to coincide with the Gentrification of Brooklyn show at MoCADA, took two months to create and can be seen throughout Brooklyn.
Posted by marc at 7:51 AM in Activism |
January 27, 2010
For several years, a leaky pipe on 33rd Street beneath the Hell Gate Bridge viaduct approach has submerged more than a hundred square feet of heavily-trafficked sidewalk under a festering cesspool of standing water. Astoria Scum River, as it's called, stretches the entire width of the sidewalk, and as winter approaches, the river ices over and becomes particularly hazardous to cross.
Astoria Scum River Bridge was constructed to offer Astorians an opportunity to safetly cross this hazard. The unauthorized bridge is a gift to the pedestrians of Astoria in the absence of successful municipal efforts to ameliorate the problem.
The bridge was made at zero cost entirely from recycled materials: an old work bench found on the curb, rescued screws from a disassembled desk, and a metal plate from an expired electrical component. It was installed and dedicated on December 30th, 2009.
On January 25th, 2010, Astoria Scum River Bridge was the subject of a commendation from the office of NYC Council Member Peter F. Vallone, Jr., accompanied by a pledge to work with Amtrak to re-route Astoria Scum River off the sidewalk.
The bridge remains in place as this work progresses.
Astoria Scum River Bridge is an unauthorized city improvement by Jason Eppink and Posterchild.
Posted by marc at 6:40 AM in Activism |
December 23, 2009
Title: Money makes the merry-go-round
Date: 21st December 2009
Site: Bank of England/The Royal Exchange, City of London
Twelve carousel horses created from recent issues of The Financial Times, with garlands made from replicated international bank notes. The bucking and galloping horses sit upon golden poles, circling the area. Reflecting the ups and downs of the world’s stock market, and financial climate.The carousel placed in London's financial district of Bank reflects on the city as a financial playground.
Posted by marc at 8:41 AM in Activism |
December 16, 2009
From Above:
"After five weeks of riding my bike around Portland interviewing the homeless, I'm finally finished with this passionate NON-PROFIT project I have been working on to support and bring awareness to the homeless crisis here in Portland, and in general. I recently made a screen printed edition of 100 prints that are priced to sell to get more people involved and support this benevolent fundraiser. My goal is to raise $5,000 to donate before the end of the year to the TRANSITION PROJECTS homeless shelter here in Portland, Oregon.
To make a donation and purchase the print, click here.
Posted by marc at 7:33 AM in Activism |
November 13, 2009
"my new poster represents an iraqi girl with school uniform and a flower on her hand. after the war ordinary daily life start again in Iraq and people go to work, at school, kids play in the parks, couples goes in cinema. you know that I love to draw muslim women in general, focus my attention on the veil, and iraqi women wears a tipical veil, similar to iranian chador, but young girls wear the normal veil, the most common in arab world. when I paste up a poster I try to make a sort of urban revaluation, and this time I choose an abandoned factory of FIAT motors group in the centre of Turin."... BR1
Posted by marc at 7:17 AM in Activism |
(Photos by Gustavo Sanabria)
From Luzinterruptus
"We cannot deal with another construction project on our sullen streets, nor another tax on our depleted pockets, therefore we have decided to hoist the white flag and turn ourselves in to see if we receive the humanitarian treatment accorded a prisoner of war, because lately we are not enjoying being ordinary citizens.
It cuts us to the quick to think that this round of projects has not finished and that for the candidature of the 2020 Olympic Games, everything done until now will already be obsolete, if not useless or out of fashion and will have to be started again.
Our symbolic act, Surrender before a possible Madrid 2020, took place on Tuesday the 27th of October and consisted of a walk around some of the most representative and long-lasting public works projects in Madrid, in whose tremendous trenches, we left our lighted white flags.
Our walk finished at the grandiose public projects in Colón, where we unfurled to the wind more than 30 flags, so that everyone who passed, would know that our surrender had been carried out.
Gustavo Sanabria was documenting the action and surrendered with us. Our friend Kaspar helped us at all times and also surrendered, a thousand thanks.
Time of installation: 4 hours.
Damages: none.
Exhibition time: ¿?."
Posted by marc at 6:59 AM in Activism |
November 12, 2009
The Eyewriter from Evan Roth on Vimeo.
Members of Free Art and Technology (FAT), OpenFrameworks, the Graffiti Research Lab, and The Ebeling Group communities have teamed-up with a legendary LA graffiti writer, publisher and activist, named Tony Quan, aka TEMPTONE. Tony was diagnosed with ALS in 2003, a disease which has left him almost completely physically paralyzed… except for his eyes. This international team is working together to create a low-cost, open source eye-tracking system that will allow ALS patients to draw using just their eyes. The long-term goal is to create a professional/social network of software developers, hardware hackers, urban projection artists and ALS patients from around the world who are using local materials and open source research to creatively connect and make eye art.
This week the team behind the EyeWriter project released all the Source code, free software, DIY instructions, and eye tags by Tempt1 to the public at eyewriter.org
Posted by marc at 8:02 AM in Activism |
Recently a group of medical students at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI constructed an outdoor medical clinic on the property of the Heidelberg Project, depicting a primary care clinic that is desperately needed in the neighborhood, but does not exist.
Paul tells us: "We used found materials, donated medical equipment that we begged for, cheap wood from an area scrap yard, spray paint, stencils, and a little imagination and creativity to make the project "work". "
The Detroit Free Press documented the work, including a terrific video. Check it out here.
Posted by marc at 7:10 AM in Activism |
October 23, 2009
"LA based graffiti artist Saber sends his message to the country on health care reform. This is his submission for President Barack Obama's Organizing For America Health Reform Video Challenge."
Posted by marc at 8:48 AM in Activism |
From Bastardilla - "In this occasion I want to share with you some information about some current issues in Colombia through image and text I send to you Minga: In "Kichwa" a dialect from the Amazon, means work or community actions, collective and solidary. MINGA is the name of a peaceful manifestation that is carried out through a march of hundreds of kilometers, in which different groups and organizations of various regions of Colombia, create through the use of dialogue a work agenda who's objective is to determine the steps to follow towards the defense of the dignity and sovereignty of the orginary people and native indians in their ancestral lands. This year ,it also proposes as part of the Global Minga the construction of a Climatic Justice Court, that judges the foreign companies and governments that work with them and prey on Mother Nature, looting her natural resources and vulnerate the respect and defense to the right of life."
Posted by marc at 7:39 AM in Activism |
October 11, 2009
Posted by marc at 4:53 PM in Activism |
Posted by marc at 4:40 PM in Activism |
Mike Dring was 23 when he broke his neck in a road traffic accident, resulting in paralysis from the upper chest down – medically he is classified as having a complete Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) resulting in Tetraplegia (level C6).
Between April 09 and April 2010, friends and family of Mike are attempting to raise money to put towards the purchase of an adapted car which will enable him to drive independently. Mikes needs are such that such a vehicle is highly specialized and comes at a very high price.
As part of this fundraising A group of artist have organised the GDM Art event and auction which will be held at the Paintworks, Bath Road, Bristol on the 14th and 15th of October.
The doors will be open from 11am to 9pm on Wednesday for a full days viewing of the works going under the hammer. Thursday will be a busy day with the opportunity for further viewing from 12pm. There will be live painting by Mr Jago, Inkie, Lokey, Felix, Eelus, Xenz, Paris, Boswell, Vermin, Milk and Dora starting at 4pm and the auction including lots by Guy Denning, Pam Glew, Rowdy, Ian Francis and Nick Walker to name a few, will commence at 7pm.
The work can be viewed on line at Dreweatts & The Saleroom (who have provided all of their extensive resources free of charge), www.dnfa.com and at www.the-saleroom.com . Bidding can be made in person or live online at www.the-saleroom.com on the evening auction or commission bids will be taken valid credit/debit card details, if you wish to make a commission bid and to register for bidding please contact The GDM team at getdringmobile@live.co.uk.
The show will also include a fine art ‘mystery’ postcard sale featuring work from award winning artists from all over the world, many of which have shown in the BP portrait awards and with some having work in the National Portrait Gallery their work usually thousands. This sale therefore gives people the opportunity to purchase a piece of art that would usually cost a small fortune, for just £50.
Finally, the team is also running a raffle to win a portrait painted by Vincent Brown, a multi award winning portrait and figurative artist from Bristol. Tickets will be available at the event and are also available now via the GDM blog at http://getdringmobile.wordpress.com. For more information about Vincent Brown and to see examples of his amazing work please visit his web-site at http://www.vincentbrown.co.uk.
Posted by marc at 1:04 PM in Activism |
September 27, 2009
From Klutch:
"For the past week I have been involved in an amazing project that reminded me why I do this and helped me to reconnect with both other artists and the street in a very real and loving way. Organized by Taylor Cass Stevenson, the project is called Live Debris and consisted of public installations and interventions along Portland's East Side Esplanade. Not content to simply be an art show on the river Live Debris sought to involve the homeless residents of the Esplanade through a huge welcoming breakfast on the opening day. What could have been a cold rainy washout for the opening turned out to be, at least for me, the most rewarding part of the entire week. Local residents who would have very likely gone hungry for the day were awakened to a massive spread of all the donuts, fruit, pastries, bagels, and more that they wanted. A hell of a lot of smiles were shining that morning including me grinning from ear to ear.
From the Live Debris site:
Live Debris 2009 is a traveling series of events and installations dedicated to sharing and establishing new reuse traditions as a way of reducing stigmas around garbage, poverty and street culture. Starting and ending in Portland, Oregon, Live Debris 2009 traveled to Rio de Janeiro as a bi-lingual, collaborative series of events networking local and international artists and innovators to reflect upon humanity’s rapidly changing relationships with garbage. Works of reuse art and design traveled from Portland to Rio de Janeiro, where Brazilian artists physically and philosophically added to the same works to express their more polemic and necessity-based attitudes towards humanity’s discards. After 5 months of workshops, clothing exchange parties, public installations and exhibitions, the artwork returned to Portland, Oregon for a series of final events.
Here is the piece I made from ceiling fan blades that I found on the riverbank during my first visit to the site:
And a collaboration I did with Ment from Rio de Janeiro on an old window shade:
You can see more photos from the project here.
Posted by marc at 7:56 AM in Activism |
September 21, 2009
"SPECIAL EDITION" NEW YORK POST from The Yes Men on Vimeo.
More here.
Posted by marc at 9:56 AM in Activism |
September 12, 2009
(click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)
"My name is NAZZA and I do stencil work technique since 1994 in Argentina.
I live in a place called "La Matanza" (the murdering, mass murdering). The name was given because of the massacre of Indians here in 1890. Argentina celebrates 200 years of independence and in this context I made this project. This work was to remember and appreciate the native people of Argentina against the Spanish crown main colonizing South America
Aboriginal paintings are made in "la matanza" by attacking Europe and painted in Europe are the King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Isabel who were attacked by Aborigines.
Juan Carlos and Isabel representatives of the nobility blue blood caused in the epoch of the Spanish empire so many deaths
I apologize for the bad translation of the text
I do not speak English.
very good website wooster colective."
Posted by marc at 6:43 AM in Activism |
August 27, 2009
A few weeks ago we posted a call for artists to assist in a massive mural in Washington DC, sponsored by the fantastic nonprofit group Albus Cavus. The final wall is absolutely stunning.
But to show how ignorant some people can be, we heard today that the local Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Marshall Phillips is now protesting the mural because, according to him, for it to be acceptable it needs to include references to MLK, the Redskins football team, and the Nationals baseball team.
Watch below:
Posted by marc at 7:32 AM in Activism |
August 6, 2009
(Photo By Marcus Yam -- The Washington Post))
This morning our friend Frank at Post Secret sent us a link to a fascinating article from today's Washington Post that profiles Regina Holliday, a woman from DC who has become a leading advocate for health-care reform following the death of her husband who, at the age of 39, died of kidney cancer. With no insurance he could not pay for the tests that would have saved his life.
An interesting layer to Regina's story is that she's using street art as a primary vehicle to tell her story and to bring attention to the problems of our current health care system.
You can read the full story here.
Posted by marc at 7:23 AM in Activism |
July 31, 2009
Tactical Stencil Lab is "a stencil graffiti action aimed at counteracting concerted effort by US Military to recruit in minority and poor neighborhoods."
"We are a group of anonymous culture jammers. This action marks the start of our campaign of counteracting manipulative and exploitative propaganda aimed at the most vulnerable members of our community, through non-violent direct action.
We encourage everyone who watches this to think of a creative ways of engaging injustices in their communities. Do not be complacent, do not be indifferent...
Peace
Tactical Stencil Lab"
Posted by marc at 6:36 PM in Activism |
More info here.
Photo by Justin Farrelly.
Posted by marc at 6:20 PM in Activism |
July 29, 2009
From Jetro
"These are some pictures from San Quintin, Baja California Mexico. Its 6 hours to the south from Tijuana. In this territory, there's an interesting identity phenomenon because of the increasing indigen population that came from Mexico's southern states (especially Oaxaca) to work for the agriculture industry. All of the young people and the new generations are in a high vulnerability state of identity because they re not keeping their parents traditions and they don't relate with the non-indigen people. At the same time they feel ashamed because of their origins. These youth are waiting and looking for new symbols and elements to fulfill a new identity path or a new ideal icons to bring out a sense of pride inside their culture. With the spectatives of an interesting hybrid result, I really believe that this is an opportunity to intervene and give positive signs and provocative symbols in public spaces.'
Posted by marc at 7:32 AM in Activism |
July 23, 2009
The piece above was completed yesterday in Toronto by Patrick Evoke and Jenifer Rudski BonnetPlumem along with 15 young artists from the ages of 10 - 17.
Here's some info from Torontoist:
"A de-commissioned TTC bus gets re-wrapped by youth from Belka Enrichment Center.
Sponsored by Arts Etobicoke and Lakeshore Arts, the three-year initiative launched yesterday morning with the first three vehicles. The project was only an idea just a few short months ago, so, as opposed to the high-profile, grand-scale projects that often take years to realize, it's encouraging to see something of such profound effect get off the ground so quickly. The art for each vehicle was created by a different non-profit organization, in a collaborative fashion led by a professional mural artist.
The Belka Enrichment Center, located in the Jane-Finch area, got a decommissioned TTC bus to work with. The Center provides mentoring services, media and computer literacy, sports clinics, and is home to a homework club. A group of some nearly fifty kids, led by artists Patrick Thompson and Jenifer Rudski, put together a collage of photos and paintings, which were then manipulated in Photoshop. Fittingly, the Belka bus will eventually be outfitted as a mobile computer lab for youth."
Photos by H.C. Tinglin/Torontoist.
Congrats guys!
Posted by marc at 8:18 AM in Activism |
July 15, 2009
In response to the now 14-week long city workers strike in Windsor, Ontario, Broken City Lab installed a series of handmade signs...
A member of Broken City Lab explains...
"The strike has led to, among many thing, the grass not being cut at any public parks. As the strike began in the spring, many parks have had the opportunity to become full-fledged meadows, and we're quite in love with how it's softened the urban landscape of our city."In response to the now 14-week long city workers strike in Windsor, Ontario, Broken City Lab installed a series of handmade signs...
Posted by marc at 6:02 AM in Activism |
June 10, 2009
From our friend Nis in Copenhagen:
"I was on my way home from work today, and when I changed subway lines at Nørreport Station (the busiest travel hub in Copenhagen) - something seemed off. There were no ads at all! Somehow someone have taken down all the ads inside locked poster-frames on a heavily CCTV'ed train station. And I think it's been done during the day - because I didn't notice the ads missing this morning on my way to work.
At first I thought "I must be in the process of switching the posters right now", but then I noticed...
...that the logo on top of the poster frames had been altered. It no longer said CLEAR CHANNEL, but now read LIAR CHANNEL."
This prank was so fantastic in it's simplicity that I had to share it with you."
Nis
Posted by marc at 11:39 AM in Activism |
June 8, 2009
Posted by marc at 7:53 AM in Activism |
May 28, 2009
More from Dr.D here.
Posted by marc at 7:49 AM in Activism |
May 27, 2009
From Sean:
These are the first posters to hit the streets in an ongoing experimental campaign to raise cognitive awareness and more importantly to inspire benevolent action that we often forget, oversee, or might be in opposition to our often hedonistic culture."
Posted by marc at 7:48 AM in Activism |
As the impact of the current downturn in the global economy worsens, and more and more storefronts are being abandoned and boarded up, we expect to see more street art urban regeneration projects like 'Post No Bills, Post Pretty ART' in in downtown Edmonton, AB.
A group of local artists in Edmonton are encouraging other artists (local or international) to put up their work throughout the Summer. The project is being done without any grants, sponsorship or permission. The organizers explain -
"We feel the creation of the artwork free from these constraints allows a more honest and organic artistic expression. We decided to focus on this building as it's on a busy intersection of downtown and it seemed absolutely appalling from a pedestrian and urban experience point of view to simply leave this building boarded up--essentially it is unused space that people scurry around to avoid like the plague. Thus, we put up some of our work and it was really nice to actually see people slow down and examine some of the pieces (the paint chip one really throws people in a bender!)--we think there's a real appreciation for street art and what it can do for urban experience, it's simply not vocalized as coherently due to its inherent lack of organization (which we think is a good thing!). People were coming up to us saying that it was about time this happened--and it was strange that, on an institutional level, no public art program had been implemented to address urban abandonment in our city. So, we think from a street art perspective, the speed at which we were able to address this issue and to act upon this need is what makes street art an incredible possibility and potent tool for guerilla urban regeneration."
If you'd like more info. click here or here.
Posted by marc at 7:14 AM in Activism |
May 22, 2009
If you're not familiar with The Yes Men, this video of their Poptech speech from 2006 is a fantastic introduction.
(Hat tip to Brain Pickings)
Posted by marc at 11:24 AM in Activism |
May 17, 2009
There's now an interactive Google map which documents all the different spots in New York that were part of last month's amazing NYSAT project. If you're unaware NYSAT, check the Public Ad Campaign website.
The map includes images of the sites that were painted white, images of the artwork that was created, web links, video footage, and personal stories.
Click here to check it out.
Posted by marc at 7:37 AM in Activism |
May 14, 2009
To get a sense of the issues that the Wooster Collective "community" is most passionate about, we're asking today on the Wooster Facebook page: "What one cause or social issue are you most passionate about?"
Post your thoughts here: http://bit.ly/nce9r
Posted by marc at 11:08 AM in Activism |
May 13, 2009
It’s amazing how times change.
When Sara and I started the Wooster Collective eight years ago, it felt to us at the time that the ONLY lens the media was providing as a way into understanding street art and graffiti was vandalism. As a gatekeeper, mass media’s control of what was being said about graffiti and street art made it impossible for most people to appreciate the positive role that it can play in our lives. The media had shut out, and refused to amplify, any diversity of thought. And because of this, graffiti has never been recognized by mainstream society as an “important” art movement. Even though it’s in every city in the world.
We want this to change.
The great thing about the Internet, as we all know, is that no media company or city government controls it. Any of us, including two people who happen to live on Wooster Street, can become a media entity. All they need is a point-of-view. By simply celebrating unauthorized acts of public art when it seemed nobody else was - and then having people spread the positive message it sends - Wooster, by happenstance, has in essence become a media entity.
As the popularity of the Wooster website started to grow, and we began meeting other people who felt the same way as we did, it quickly became clear to us that MANY people understood that graffiti and street art was not about just about vandalism. But rather, that it raises important issues about the need to reclaim our public space; the need for us to affirm our existence on this planet by writing on walls; the need and importance of spontaneous acts of creativity to make our cities more “livable”. And so, so much more.
So last month when we received an invitation to attend a briefing at The White House (yes, that one), we were at first a bit shocked, definitely skeptical, and finally, after giving it a lot of thought - absolutely delighted. To be included in the conversation at the level of The White House, we felt, was a huge testament that our voice (meaning our collective voice) was being heard.
Yesterday, along with about sixty amazing organizations who are committed to grassroots arts initiatives, we met with various officials in the Obama Administration, to listen and learn what the administration was thinking in regards to the Arts, to ask questions, and then to participate in working sessions on issues that we felt passionate about. (Ours was the need to better understand the issues around public and private space)
We know that a lot of people will hate us for going to The White House. But for us, the goal of attending the meetings yesterday was not to attempt to “partner” with government on anything. Or to ask for their acceptance. The power of street art is that you don’t ask for, nor need, permission. At best, it’s about tolerance and understanding.
For us, we felt the issues related to the disappearance of common access to our public space and the need for a deeper understanding of what is and what is not “art” should not be limited to those who read blogs – especially ours. Talking solely to “the converted” will get you only so far. We learned a while back that when you have a chance to sit at the table you take it. Even if those around the table are not people you fully trust.
So all of this is to say that we felt that by going to meet with officials in the new Obama Administration we were representing not us, but all of you. It wasn’t about stroking our ego or having a photo-op with the President (which didn’t happen). It was about letting people who make decisions at the highest level know that the definition of what "art" is needs to change in our society. If art is "over there" and health and science and transportation is “over here" - then art will always be something that is perceived as elitist, misunderstood, undervalued, etc. It will always be something that is only found in museums and in galleries, not put on our streets and on our walls with the artist taking the risk of getting arrested.
Again - our definitions need to change. An we think Obama can do that. At the very least he can start to move the needle forward.
The amazing thing we found out yesterday is that there are people working directly for Obama who get it. We know this not from what they said, but from the diversity of their backgrounds.
Yes, there are indeed graffiti artists working in The White House!
On Monday, when we told a friend that we were heading down to Washington to participate in these meetings, he said - “That what I voted for!”
We felt the same way.
And that's why we went to the White House.
Posted by marc at 8:37 AM in Activism |
May 8, 2009
If you've ever heard Sara and I talk, then you know how much we love projects like EPOS 257's paintball splattered billboards in Prague.
We love a short phrase in his artist statement in which he calls his work - "a gesture expressing an opinion".
Because Street Art is ephemeral. And because the artist is always risking arrest. Every piece of street art is to us - "a gesture expressing an opinion"
From EPOS 257:
"Shooting into the white surface of vacant billboards with a paintball gun – blank canvasses in an urban environment, a gesture expressing an opinion and at the same time abstract painting in a urban environmemt."
Posted by marc at 8:46 AM in Activism |
May 7, 2009
Chris Johansen
ESPO
Our friends over at Paper Magazine recently invited an amazing group of "visual communicators" to create original advertising concepts that would redefine America's image. The full set can be found in the latest issue of the magazine as well as online here. They're terrific.
Posted by marc at 7:52 AM in Activism |
May 5, 2009
Last week we highlighted Jordan Seiler's NYSAT event in which a team of activists and artists whitewashed 120 Illegal outdoor billboards in New York City and replaced them with art.
This morning Carolyn Tripp posted a wonderful interview with Jordan on the Canadian site, illegalsigns.ca. It gives a terrific overview of the project for those interested in learning more. You can read it here.
http://illegalsigns.ca/2009/05/04/illegal-npa-outdoor-billboards-replaced-with-art-in-new-york-city/
Best,
--
http://www.trippcar.com
http://www.hoofinthemouth.blogspot.com
*new projects - Contact 2009 on the TTC
(http://www.trippcar.com/02_html%20docs%20-%20all/gtc001.html)
Posted by marc at 7:43 AM in Activism |
April 27, 2009
Jennifer Jacobs
Tristan Eaton
Gaia and Rachel
Peru Ana Ana Peru
Photos above by Rebecca Fuller
Posted by marc at 7:50 AM in Activism |
April 26, 2009
Jordan Seiler's incrediblely ambitious "New York Street Advertising Takeover" became a reality yesterday, when over 120 illegal billboards throughout the city were white washed by dozens of volunteers.
NYSAT was organized as a reaction to the hundreds of billboards that are not registered with the city, and therefore are illegal. While illegal, these violations are not being prosecuted by the City of New York, allowing the billboard companies to garner huge profits by cluttering our outdoor space with intrusive and ugly ads.
After the illegal spots were white washed, late in the day yesterday over eighty artists transformed these spaces into personal pieces of art.
Here's some of the initial photos that are coming in:
Artist: Ji Lee
Artist: Clarina Bezzola
Photo nicked from here.
Photo nicked from here.
Posted by marc at 2:02 PM in Activism |
April 22, 2009
Graffiti FAIL from Michael Mandiberg on Vimeo.
Posted by marc at 7:37 AM in Activism |
April 21, 2009
From Faith47 in Cape Town South Africa:
"with elections coming up the slogan. 'our dreams dont fit in your ballots' has been used as a slogan to say that a cross in a ballot box is not enough.
here the artists have given the space for passers by to say what they want within their art... i love it..."
Posted by marc at 7:36 AM in Activism |
March 31, 2009
We received the following note from faith47 in Cape Town South Africa and wanted to share it:
"We are facing a new anti-graffiti by-law in Cape Town which takes away the house owners rights to give permission for any artworks on their walls besides a house number.
The new, proposed graffiti by-law makes no distinction between vandalism and public art that is done with the permission of the owner of the property.
Please can you assist us in our efforts to amend this by-law by signing the petition and forwarding it on... As we need to present it to the council during the public participation process.
Here is the link and below are the details of the two points in the by-law that we would like to amend.
http://www.petitiononline.com/art4all/petition.html
To: The City of Cape Town
The new, proposed graffiti by-law criminalizes all forms of public art and violates our personal right to freedom of expression on private property. It makes no distinction between vandalism and public art that is done with the permission of the owner of the property. The by-law will soon be presented for public discussion and these are the two main issues that we feel need to be addressed:
1. The definition of ‘graffiti’ under the by-law is too broad. It classifies ‘graffiti’ as any inscription, word, figure, letter, sign, symbol, sketch, picture or drawing. There should be a clear differentiation between ‘graffiti vandalism’ [e.g. gang tags, scratchings] and public art that is done with permission from the owner [murals, colourful characters and positive, inspiring messages].
2. The by- law removes the legal right of the private property owner to paint anything other than a house number on his/her wall. We strongly believe that the private property owner should maintain the right to determine what to paint on to his/her property without permission from the City.
if you agree with these two amendments please sign the petition on the link above
and hopefully we can adjust the by-law to become a more inclusive one and thus limit the damage it can potentially do to the creative growth of our city."
Posted by marc at 7:42 AM in Activism |
March 9, 2009
More here.
Posted by marc at 11:38 AM in Activism |
February 25, 2009
Photos by Oyeperez
Posted by marc at 6:44 AM in Activism |
January 29, 2009
Turns out Neozoon has his a Flickr page. :)
Posted by marc at 8:54 AM in Activism |
Adam Martin's Beautiful Crime has a terrific post today highlighting "UpCycling" - improving on the last cycle of the products life. We love his example of using furcoats to create street art deers.
The work is by Neozoon with photos by Vitostreet
Posted by marc at 8:24 AM in Activism |
January 28, 2009
An anonymous female artist called Questionmarc has been causing a bit of a stir in Nottingham over the last couple of weeks in an attempt to highlight some ignored issues in the city.
From the BBC:
City hit by 'legal to pee' prank
The council said anyone taking the advice of the signs could be prosecuted
People should ignore signs telling them that it is legal to urinate in certain public places in Nottingham, the city council said.
The signs, which were put up by pranksters in and around Nottingham, are designed to look official.
They feature a toilet sign and include the words: "Public Urination Permitted After 7.30pm".
Nottingham City Council is now urging the public to ignore the notices as it sets about removing them.
'Cleaned daily'
The prank also featured a laminated note, headed with the logo of Nottingham City Council, which said the scheme was aimed at reducing the mess faced by residents outside their homes.
A spokeswoman for the authority said: "It is an offence to urinate in public and these signs have been put up illegally, for whatever reason.
"We would urge people to ignore them, otherwise they could find themselves inadvertently facing a prosecution.
"We are taking the signs down as quickly as possible and if anyone spots one of the illegal signs we ask them to please contact the city council so they can be removed."
The notice reads: "In an attempt to reduce late night public nuisance, during the holiday period, Nottingham City Council has designated several public urination areas across the city.
"This urination area will be cleaned daily between the hours of 5am and 6am."
From the Nottingham Evening Post:
Graffiti artist hoaxer strikes again in Nottingham
Thursday, January 22, 2009, 07:30
A GRAFFITI artist has called into question Nottingham's love for the legend Robin Hood.
A silhouette of Robin Hood, complete with a walking stick, has appeared just yards away from the statue in his honour near Nottingham Castle.
The artist has also penned a poem inspired by the closure of The Tales of Robin Hood tourist attraction.
Both have appeared on the side and front of a building next to the Lace Centre, in Castle Gate.
The artist behind the graffiti is claiming to be 'Questionmarc' –- the same person who last month put up official-looking signs in Nottingham stating that public urination was permitted.
On a dedicated website, called www.questionmarc.co.uk, the artist explained the reasoning for the latest stunt.
Questionmarc, who is thought to be a woman, said: "Visit Nottingham where you can look at a castle that's not really a castle, stand outside museums that shut down years ago and have your picture taken with a broken statue of Robin Hood."
The poem, entitled 'Robin Who?' reads: "Nottingham, Nottingham how we love thee.
The land of legends and mystery.
But the pilgrims here have nothing to see.
No Robin Hood and nowhere to pee."
The website also show pictures of last month's public urination sign prank.
In a recorded message to the Evening Post, Questionmarc, warned that she "will be back".
She said the signs – which appeared around the city before Christmas – were a reminder that there were so many pubs in Nottingham but no toilets after closing time. She also called into question the use of longer licensing hours.
The signs which were put up last month displayed a male toilet logo with text saying "Public urination permitted after 7.30pm."
They were accompanied by an official-looking, laminated letter in Nottingham City Council-headed paper which claimed the urination points were an "attempt to reduce late-night nuisance during the holiday period" and "address the growing problem of householders having to clean up after late-night revellers."
Nottingham City Council warned it was an offence to urinate in public.
Posted by marc at 8:15 AM in Activism |
From our friend Just in Berlin comes these photos of the german artist Hermann Josef Hack's "Climate Refugee Camp" installation. The Climate Refugee Camp, consisting of about 400 small tents, converts Brandenburger Tor and Alexanderplatz in Berlin into symbolic areas of crisis, drawing attention to the plight of refugees.
Posted by marc at 7:39 AM in Activism |
December 17, 2008
From Laurel:
"Your Urban Oasis imagines an alternative housing solution consisting of small domes made from coconuts. Inspired in part by Dome Village (1993-2006), a self-governing homeless encampment in downtown Los Angeles, YUO suggests the improbable but possible. An interventionist project, YUO banners are placed on development construction fencing, in some cases with plaster models of the coconut domes placed nearby. Both sublime and nutty, YUO spins notions of community, architecture, street culture, development economics and advertising. 2008-
Founded by activist Ted Hayes, Dome Village comprised 20 geodesic dome dwellings designed by Craig Chamberlain. A small but thriving community located in the elbow of 8th Place near the 110 freeway in LA, Dome Village was a model solution to difficult housing problems. Residents were evicted in 2006 to make room for development. Years later the site remains undeveloped, a virtual ghost town, and hosts the base installment of Your Urban Oasis in addition to a few wandering souls."
Posted by marc at 9:12 PM in Activism |
November 20, 2008
ParaSITE is an ongoing project by artist Michael Rakowitz (who we learned about via Charlie Todd's blog, Urban Prankster)
The text below was nicked from Michael's website. Be sure to check out not only this project, but his other one's as well.
"ParaSITE: Custom built inflatable shelters designed for homeless people that attach to the exterior outtake vents of a building’s Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system. The warm air leaving the building simultaneously inflates and heats the double membrane structure. Built and distributed to over 30 homeless people in Boston and Cambridge, MA and New York City.
PARASITISM IS DESCRIBED AS A RELATIONSHIP IN WHICH A PARASITE TEMPORARILY OR PERMANENTLY EXPLOITS THE ENERGY OF A HOST.1
paraSITE proposes the appropriation of the exterior ventilation systems on existing architecture as a means for providing temporary shelter for homeless people.
PARASITES LIVE ON THE OUTER SURFACE OF A HOST OR INSIDE ITS BODY IN RESPIRATORY ORGANS, DIGESTIVE ORGANS, VENOUS SYSTEMS, AS WELL AS OTHER ORGANS AND TISSUES.2
The paraSITE units in their idle state exist as small, collapsible packages with handles for transport by hand or on one's back. In employing this device, the user must locate the outtake ducts of a building's HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) system.
FREQUENTLY A HOST PROVIDES A PARASITE NOT ONLY WITH FOOD, BUT ALSO WITH ENZYMES AND OXYGEN, AND OFFERS FAVOURABLE TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS.3
The intake tube of the collapsed structure is then attached to the vent. The warm air leaving the building simultaneously inflates and heats the double membrane structure.
†
BUT A HOST IS CERTAINLY NOT INACTIVE AGAINST A PARASITE, AND IT HINDERS THE DEVELOPMENT AND POPULATION GROWTH OF PARASITES WITH DIFFERENT DEFENSE MECHANISMS, SUCH AS THE CLEANING OF SKIN, PERISTALTIC CONTRACTION OF THE DIGESTIVE APARATUS, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIBODIES.4
In April of 1997, I proposed my concept and first prototype to a homeless man named Bill Stone, who regarded the project as a tactical response. At the time, the city of Cambridge had made a series of vents in Harva