We didn’t realize that ANIMAL ally and illegal ad space irritant Jordan Seiler was one of the finalists in NYC’s urbancanvas program. Vote for his black and white checkered design here, it’s karmically justified.
Billboards Are There for the Taking
Public Ad Campaign’s Jordan Seiler is much happier now that NPA has largely abandoned their illegal billboard bombing since it means for space for artists to takeover, like this recent site specific piece done by French artist OX in the East Village. Seiler also encouraged artists to take advantage of the new street levels canvasses, offering this bit of advice: Read more »
After two successful NYSAT (New York Street Advertising Takeover) operations, Public Ad Campaign’s Jordan Seiler just launched the digital arm of the project: a website. It’s chock full of galleries, videos, maps, and most importantly, it lists all of the MPA’s illegal ad locations, making it that much easier for anyone to take part in the buff.
Artists Stage Illicit Subway Show for the Holidays
Last December, a small group of artists installed an unauthorized holiday display to raise straphangers’ spirits and spruce up a neglected corner of the Columbus Circle Subway Station. The budding tradition continues after today’s extremely early morning opening of the second annual “Holiday Gift to NYC Show.” Around 1:30 AM, eleven artists convened to turn a 200-foot long pedestrian tunnel at the Lexington Avenue/53rd Street Station into a public gallery. Read more »
New York Street Advertising Takeover, the Sequel
After the success of the last New York Street Advertising Takeover, Public Ad Campaign’s Jordan Seiler organized another contingent of conspirators—including ANIMAL’s own Will Sherman—to liberate the mostly illegally operated NPA billboards in Manhattan and Brooklyn on Sunday. Like last time, the first wave of volunteers in nifty OSHA-approved neon vests, buffed the ad spots with white paint, followed by a second wave of artists who added their unique touches, turning the locations into temporary public canvasses and challenging the outdoor advertising company’s claims to legitimacy. Read more »
Public Ad Campaign & DICKCHICKEN Liberate Mural
A colorful mural by Conor Harrington that was recently covered up by illegal NPA wildpostings (pictured left) in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District was liberated today by Public Ad Campaign and street artist DICKCHICKEN (pictured right). Hopefully, the outdoor advertising company doesn’t reclaim the space as quick as they did their other spots after the infamous whitewashing takeover. |PublicAdCampaign|
In addition to the one artist that was arrested during the New York Street Advertising Takeover, several other participants were taken into custody: 2 whitewashers and one videographer. Jordan Seiler of Public Ad Campaign writes: Read more »
Artist Horde Turns Newly Whitewashed Billboards Into Works of Art
Had Public Ad Campaign’s New York Street Advertising Takeover just finished with the whitewashing of 120 illegally NPA operated advertising locations, it certainly still would have been a success. But no, Jordan Seiler had to turn things up a notch. Once the buffers were finished painting over the ad blight, over 50 artists (of which only 1 was arrested) moved in to transform the newly created public canvasses into works of art. While my colleague was buffing the billboards, I was indiscriminately shooting the action, including the best part: the artists, who used posters, paint, and even performance art in their creative reclamations. Jump for the massive billboard-beautifying gallery.
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Public Space Reclaiming Cabal Whitewashes Illegal Ad Spots
On Saturday, Public Ad Campaign’s Jordan Seiler organized a massive ad space takeover in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The target: NPA’s illegal outdoor billboards. They’re the main company that wheatpastes up promotional posters for various brands or what’s known in the industry as wild postings. According to Seiler, the Department of Buildings informed him that many of the locations operated by the outdoor advertising outfit are unlawful and although there’s occasional arrests, the city mostly ignores the law breaking executions. So starting around 11AM, a total of 26 whitewashers (including this very editor, shout out to Team 10: JustSeeds & AnerA), were broken into groups and provided with paint, orange worker vests, and maps. In total we covered 120 of the 132 locations planned in Chelsea, West Village, Chinatown, East Village, Lower East Side, and Williamsburg.
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It’s hard to say which is more honorable: this subway ad takeover or the nonchalance in which it was executed. Public Ad Campaign’s Jordan Seiler explains the inspiration for the piece: “I’m in the midst of planning a large project and therefor have not made much of my own work lately. It was bothering me last Saturday night and so I rummaged through my studio for some materials to quickly put something up before I went out. Turns out I had some vinyl letters lying around and so I quickly put together this little subway moment. It’s not much but doing something like this regularly keeps me sane.” |Public Ad Campaign|
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