artist – Ji Lee
This past Saturday over 120 illegal billboards were white-washed and covered with art in New York City by a team of volunteers and artists. The guerrilla operation was organized by The Public Ad Campaign over the past four months.
Barbara Celis writes:
As the main organizer explained to the artists who choose to get involved, the agency that owns the ‘attacked’ billboards operates on an illegal basis. “NPA outdoor operates over 500 street level billboards in NYC ranging in size from about 4′x4′ to 50′x12′. All of these advertising structures are illegal. I found this out by talking to the NYC Department of Buildings which has no permits for the NPA outdoor structures but has its hands full dealing with the rampant illegal billboard situation. I have also spoken directly with NPA outdoor employees who have told me that the NYPD will jail them from time to time at which point NPA lawyers bail them out and they are compensated 500 dollars for the nuisance of spending the night in jail”.
NPA Outdoor had teams putting their illegal advertising back up early Sunday morning. I personally spotted ads going up over artwork on 8th Avenue and 26th Street at 2 AM. Celis interviewed an artist at the afterparty who said, “Art is about the experience, about living the moment, and what we did was so fucking great for New York that even if they take down our pieces, we have learned that we can do it, and we will do it again. New yorkers had fun today in a very unusual way. It’s priceless!”
More photos:
cronicasbarbaras
wooster collective
gothamist
Filmmakers in Dusseldorf Germany used a camera and a projector to draw attention to the “invisible” nature of the town’s homeless population.
A very clever protest of the Westboro Baptist Church’s hateful signs. Photo by Mike Burstein.
This is a couple of months old, but we just stumbled upon Stephen Taberner’s “Buy More Stuff” choir. Right before Christmas a mob of people turned up at shopping malls to encourage the people of Melbourne, Australia to “buy more stuff.” Reverend Billy would be proud.
French artists Helen Evans and Heiki Hansen (AKA HeHe) used a high power laser to draw attention to the coal burning power plant in Helsinki. The clouds of smoke were illuminated every night for a week.
A group of Iraq war veterans do a little bit of culture jamming at a gas station late one night. Created by Iraq Veterans Against the War.
(Thanks Andrew)
The amount of media coverage the Fake New York Times stunt received was staggering. It spread to news outlets all over the globe like wildfire. The chief organizers of the event, Andy Bichlbaum from The Yes Men and Steve Lambert from the Anti-Advertising Agency appeared on CNN the day after the storm to discuss the project.
Remember that top secret “power shifting exercise” we tipped you off to last week? It’s happening right now in NY as seen in the video above.
The site is running super slow right now thanks to tons of traffic, but you can see it here: online version of the fake paper.
We’ve been tipped off to a top secret event happening on the streets on New York next week. The organizers (who include the Yes Men, the Anti-Advertising Agency, and others) aren’t giving much away, but if you’re praying for an Obama win today then this will be up your alley (no matter who wins.)
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