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.
Read the rest of the interview at UK Street Art
Photo from Poster Boy’s flickr