ART: Brandalism: Reclaiming the UK Visual Landscape

(Artist - Bill Posters (UK) // Site specific install, Primary School, Manchester. Image via Brandalism.org.uk.)

“Any advertisement in public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It belongs to you. It’s yours to take, rearrange and re-use. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.” 

- Paraphrase by Banksy of graphic designer/writer Sean Tejaratchi in Crap Hound no. 6, July 1999. 

This well-known quote neatly sums up the philosophy behind The Brandalism Project, a group of UK artists who have launched what they are calling, “the world’s first international, collaborative subvertising project.”

“We are tired of being shouted at by adverts on every street corner,” Brandalism state on their website, “so we decided to get together with some friends from around the world and start to take them back, one billboard at a time.” 

In the run up to the London Olympics, 25 Brandalism artists assailed over 30 billboards and other advertisements in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, and London and used them as canvases to create original art. Some Brandalists modify the text or visual elements of a billboard in order to turn its commercial message on its ear, as in “Health Warning” (Levenshulme, Manchester) by artist Shift//Delete; others simply paper over the advertisements or install their work on blank billboards.

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ADVENTURE: Mongol Rally: Launch Party

Mongol Rally Launch

[Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of posts by former stated feature artist, Charlie Grosso, as she takes on the 10,000 Mongol Rally.]

After months of preparation, we finally kicked-off The Mongol Rally from Klenova Castle, about an hour outside of Prague.

The Mongol Rally is presented by The Adventurists (namely Rob and Joolz) who drove from London to Ulaan Baator in the summer of 2004 on a lark, thus began the adventure.

You might be wondering, what does it cost to do The Mongol Rally?

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PERFORMANCE: The Actors' Roundtable: "Backstage Drama"

Each week, Paden Fallis poses one question to a group of professional working actors from a variety of backgrounds. Our goal is not to demystify the work of the actor or explore their careers, but to dig a bit deeper into their artistic working process. ACTOR’S ROUNDTABLE: BACKSTAGE DRAMA Actors. They can be inventive, courageous, and inspired. They can also be petty, bull-headed, and narcissistic. Yet, a handful of us are put into a rehearsal room together and expected to play nice, work it out, and find the play. How does this happen? How can a divergent group of actors come together, amidst all their idiosyncrasies, for the betterment of the show? We’ve all worked with actors who are generous and we’ve all worked with actors who are difficult. So, what makes for a good teammate in the rehearsal process? What makes for a bad one? And, how do you manage?

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Cash Mobs: Commercial Theater of a Different Kind

Oh sure, we’re all familiar with the flash mob.

The scene: mid-day, at a high-traffic location, bystanders shopping, walking their dog, eating street meat—then BOOM—suddenly hundreds of people descend upon the locale, perform an inane act to the shock/delight/horror/annoyance of the assembled denizens. After completing said activity, the participants disperse to a variety of locations as though nothing happened, leaving onlookers scratching their heads.

What kind of activities, you ask? Oh, you know, like descending on a popular clothing store and struttin’ it out to MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This”…

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PERFORMANCE: The Actors' Roundtable: "Trusting the Audience"

Each week, Paden Fallis poses one question to a group of professional working actors from a variety of backgrounds. Our goal is not to demystify the work of the actor or explore their careers, but to dig a bit deeper into their artistic working process. ACTOR’S ROUNDTABLE: TRUSTING THE AUDIENCE Recently in one of our discussions, one of you commented that you must “trust your audience,” that you need them “with you”. This dovetails nicely into our next question. We know the audience is the lifeblood once the show starts. They complete the circle with playwright, director, tech team, and actor. However, what can we really expect from our audience? And, should we trust them? Oftentimes I hear actors say, “That was a bad house,” or “The house was quiet tonight,” or “They were really with us tonight, etc.” But what does all that mean? I can assure you that I’ve laid a total egg on stage and still garnered a standing ovation a time or two. Conversely, I’ve been “in the zone” on other nights and been greeted with a tepid response. So what do we take from this and, more importantly, what does this have to do with your performance and the show? Do you trust your audience? And what should the actor expect from them?

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