Poster Boy recently put up this memorial to Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922 – January 27, 2010).
It may have seemed that PB hasn’t been doing much on the streets recently, but he has in fact been working very hard on a big project that is soon to be unveiled. I won’t say any more, but if you’re a fan of Poster Boy’s courageous activism art, you’ll be very excited when more is announced.
In the meantime, check out past Poster Boy work here.
The New York Post reports that PosterBoy (or, if you like to believe the confusing history of this whole arrest story, one follower of the PosterBoy movement because there is not single PosterBoy) has been sentenced to 210 hours of community service after pleading guilty to two counts of criminal mischief. Seems like a bit much for messing up some advertisements. I’ve got to agree with Animal New York when they say, “Hopefully the city puts Poster Boy to work doing something productive, like cutting down the illegal NPA advertising clogging the city.”
Photo by Ali Buxton (courtesy of BrooklynStreetArt.com)
PosterBoy allegedly put up this banner this week in Maimi for Art Basel week. As Brooklyn Street Art notes, the poster is one of the first major anti-Obama pieces of street art.
UK Street Art has a pretty lengthy interview with Poster Boy. Good to know since I was worried the guy had just disappeared and stopped the Poster Boy project.
Here’s an excerpt:
How did Poster Boy come about? Why did you start cutting-up posters and did you ever think it would turn into the phenomenon it is?
I’m constantly torn between wanting to be an activist and an artist. I’m not the greatest artist nor am I the greatest activist, but I’m a pretty good Poster Boy and that requires being little of both.
New York is inundated with advertisements. So why spend money on materials when posters and billboards are ripe for the picking? Stealing and vandalising ads is illegal, but littering the public’s visual space with images and messages that are motivated by profit is wrong. There’s a lot of potential in working with your environment, especially if the motives are well place. Besides, the traditional mediums have never satisfied my ambitions.
I always hoped this would catch on. I couldn’t have been the only one with these sentiments floating around.
What are your views on advertising?
Advertising is bizarro art. Both are cut from the same cloth, but what sets them apart is intent. Art is driven, at least in theory, by the desire to express oneself. Advertising is driven by the desire to promote a product or service. Often times the two overlap making it hard to tell the difference. As long as there’s money to be made there’ll be advertising. I can’t deny that. With development of technology and the market comes increasingly elaborate ad campaigns. Sometimes the campaigns are funny. Sometimes they’re artful. But one thing I’ll never accept is public advertising no matter how clever the campaign is.
Last week I had the chance to spend 2 days in New York City. New York is where modern graffiti and street art originated (yes I am aware that Cornbread was from Philadelphia), so it was a trip I had been looking forward to for a while. I crammed as much art into my visit as a possibly could.
First, before getting to New York, I was in Baltimore for a day. While there, I had lunch with Gaia. One of the topics we spoke about, the perception of street art as a democratic process, turned into a post on his blog, and soon (probably after finals are over) I think I’ll be doing a similar post.
My first day in New York, I made sure to see a number of galleries. I’m sure I’ll forget to mention somewhere I visited, but here’s a summary.
First I went to the Jonathan LeVine Gallery for their Phil Frost show. I’m not the biggest fan of Phil Frost. I own one small piece by him, and I really like it, but for the most part, I just don’t get his work. I had never seen more than 2 or 3 pieces together at a time though, so I thought that maybe seeing an entire show would convert me to a fan. It did not. I’m still pretty indifferent to his work.
Next, I made a quick stop at the Doma Café and Gallery for a show by Erik Otto. I’d never heard of Otto, but it was recommended by Hooked. I was in a rush, so I only browsed the show quickly, but it was pretty impressive for artwork in a café, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for Otto in the future.
Naturally, Deitch Projects was a place I had to stop, and though I originally had little interest in Ryan McGinness’ show there, a few pieces definitely caught my eye.
After popping in at Glowlab and then seeing the amazing wall where the above video took place, I was headed to Williamsburg, the heart of NYC’s street art scene… Read the rest of this article »
Expect another PosterBoy arrest this weekend, because the Neo-Con collective (Aakash Nihalani, Ellis G, and PosterBoy) have their first proper show opening on Saturday evening. Neo Con New York is at 17 Frost Gallery (can you guess the address?) in New York City and will have multiple installations by the collective.
Just saw this announcement on Eastern District’s website. Details are starting to emerge about PosterBoy‘s first ever solo show. If you don’t know PosterBoy, check our archives or his flickr.
In short, the show is called “AdBooster” and opens April 3rd at Eastern District in New York City. Be there or be square (unless of course, like me, you’ll be in a different country for the opening night. That’s forgivable).
PosterBoy “AdBooster” presented by PublicAdCampaign
April 3rd – May 3rd. Opening Reception 7-10pm Friday April 3rd 2009
43 Bogart Street, Brooklyn, NY PosterBoy www.publicadcampaign.com
Street art and and vandalism have never been paired so eloquently as they are when PosterBoy gets out his razor. Through a simple act of civil disobedience, this work challenges our intense relationship with outdoor advertising in the city. It proposes new ways of interacting with your public environment and challenges notions of public and private space. Out of the work comes a dialogue which is sometimes political, sometimes humorous, and always a mind altering moment of communication between two people.
Over the past year PosterBoy has brought his intense critique of advertising and public space usage to the streets of New York City with prolific force. Eastern-District is proud to bring you his first solo exhibition, including a large scale installation by the artist as well as prints of his now famous subway installations.
If you’re not familiar with Supreme, they are a clothing company who seem, at first glance, pretty hip or whatever. Unfortunately, they are also known for being big fans of flypasting. Their advertising campaigns always seem to consist of photos of celebrities wearing their clothing. These adverts get stuck up in locations which also happen to be perfect for street art or graffiti (often times even going over street art or graffiti).
This practice has caused artists like Gaia to speak out against them or go over them. Recently, other street artists have picked up on this idea rather creatively. This most recent campaign has been a photo of rock legend Lou Reed. Within days of the campaign starting up, Faile were out changing around the ads to their liking. Now, another artist/artists (probably PosterBoy and Aakash Nihilani) have gotten involved:
Some pretty exciting news from New York. One of New York’s newest art galleries, Eastern District, is having a show with PosterBoy opening April 3rd. Information is limited at this point, with just a few lines on Eastern Districts website. The show is presented by Public Ad Campaign, a really cool blog. This show is going to be one of my first stops when I visit New York next month. I bet it is going to be amazing. Other than the piece photographed below, these should be PosterBoy’s first works in a gallery.
The New York Times and Public Ad Campaign have some news abut Poster Boy that, in hindsight, is not so shocking. The Poster Boy arrested on Friday might not actually be Poster Boy, or he might be one of many Poster Boys, or the guy who got arrested (Henry Matyjewicz) may have just been a willing stand-in for that night.
Photo from Posterboy's flickr
The New York Times has the more “news-y” story, and Public Ad Campaign has an interview with Poster Boy about what happened. Fans of Poster Boy should give them both a read.
