Mentalgassi is a German street art collective that covers urban objects with photographic wheatpastes. Above are photos of public recycling bins (the giant dome shaped things) and ticket validating machines covered with the group’s work.
Here’s a video that shows the group in action:
I’ve seen a few protests of protests, but showing up at a protest to protest crowds is a new one.
From the BBC:
A design student made a battered old Skoda “disappear” by painting it to merge with the surrounding car park.
Sara Watson, who is studying drawing at the University of Central Lancashire (Uclan), took three weeks to transform the car’s appearance.
She created the illusion in the car park outside her studio at Uclan’s Hanover Building in Preston.
The car is now being used for advertising by the local recycling firm that donated the vehicle.
‘Just amazing’
Ms Watson, a second year student, said: “I was experimenting with the whole concept of illusion but needed something a bit more physical to make a real impact.”
She was given the Skoda Fabia from the breaker’s yard at local firm Recycling Lives.
Owner Steve Jackson described her work as “amazing”.
“When I first saw the photos I was convinced it was something which had been done on the computer,” said Mr Jackson.
“But when you look more closely you see the effort and attention to detail she has put into it. It is just amazing.
You can see a video of it at BBC News (embedding disabled due to lameness!)
via wooster
photo by Noah Britton‘s cellphone
Spotted in a men’s room at Hunter College in NYC. I’ve never thought about it, but the graphic for “heat” coming out of a hand dryer does indeed look like strips of bacon.
Improv Everywhere‘s book comes out today! Causing a Scene, Extraordinary Pranks in Ordinary Places with Improv Everywhere is available in bookstores all over North America. The book comes out in Australia on May 28. You can also order it online at Amazon.
Causing a Scene is the behind-the-scenes story of Improv Everywhere, with an in-depth look at some of the group’s most successful pranks over the past eight years. It’s written by Improv Everywhere founder Charlie Todd and Improv Everywhere senior agent Alex Scordelis, and contains many awesome photos by Chad Nicholson.
If you live in the New York City area, come by tomorrow (5/20) afternoon at 12:30 to the Bryant Park Word for Word writers series to watch Edward R. Murrow interview Charlie Todd about the book, and get your copy signed by the authors.
Also for New Yorkers: Improv Everywhere’s newest Mp3 Experiment is Saturday! Check their site for details.
Prague’s street art collective EPOS 257 recently converted some blank billboards into abstract art with the help of a few paintball guns. They write:
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.
This is not really a prank, but the photo is just too funny not to post. It’s a staged photo by Adam Hester and is part of his “Playful Surroundings” series. I hope some of the neighbors walked by and caught Lord Vader tidying up his yard.
Roadsworth, who we’ve covered before, has a new documentary coming out about his work on the streets of Montreal. Enjoy the trailer above.
Some urban pranksters out in San Francisco recently installed swings on a few BART train cars. The resulting photos are awesome.
Caroline Woolard did a project like this in New York back in 2006. Check out her video:
Previously: Statue Swing, Bus Stop Swing
(thanks Rob)
