Oct 25, 2009

ART INSTEAD OF ADS AGAIN IN NY!!!


Eldridge and Broome


Christie and Broome




Broome and Christie



It took about three months of careful preparation, but this time art didn't win as easily as the last time. Five people arrested and an extremely brief life for most of the pieces of art that went up on New York streets it's the balance of today's NYSAT action. About a 100 artists and activists were involved in the second New York Street Advertising Takeover, a pacific, smart, creative and uplifting initiative organized by Public Ad Campaign. Under its umbrella operates a very brave group of citizens that are tired to see their city decorated only with ads.

I reported about them back in April, when artists were able to replace about forty ad billboards with their own creative projects for a whole day. They didn't choose billboards casually, they only attacked those belonging to NPA, a company that according to Public Ad Campaign doesn't pay the city a dime to have their ads up. NPA only pays building owners. Then, why should we endure the visual attack of those ads if our city doesn't even get any money in exchange? Art should be on those billboards instead! Why not?

That thought brought NYSAT back to the streets today but, according to Jordan Seiler, one of the brains behind the project, "police and NPA found out about it very early on so they were very aggressive towards us, they arrested five artists and they were really fast at covering the billboards with ads again". By 3 pm I saw an employee of NPA covering one of the white washed billboards with new ads on Mulberry st... This time, though, Seiler is ready to suit the NPA and even the city because "the way they operate is not legal and now we know who they are". All the artists arrested will plead not guilty in court tomorrow.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to follow the project all day long like I did last time but my good friend Xavi did and we will have more pictures later on. I'm sure the Public Ad Campaign web and the wooster collective will have some pictures too. I'm also editing a short video.

6 comments:

  1. know the girl up top.

    the building own stole all of her stuff though... including her shoes.

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  2. Who is the artist who created the whale eating the cupcakes? They are fantastic and I want to buy something with that graphic on it!

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  3. Hypocrisy at it's finest...Just think, graffiti artists and vandals suing the city because someone ELSE threw up graffiti? Can you say "Misplaced Priorities?"

    Plenty of space around NYC for everyones art and advertising...At least the ad people have jobs...

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  4. tell the girl on the ladder her daddy called her cell phone that i have and he is very upset with her lol

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  5. GIVE ME BACK MY PHONE

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