Autoterrorist

December 8, 2008

Pop_down project

From the Pop Down Project:

DEPOLLUTION VISUELLE

Sur Internet, il est relativement facile de réduire le nombre de Pop-Up qui s’affichent sur nos écrans. Dans la réalité, c’est autrement plus compliqué.
Le Projet Pop_Down propose donc à chacun de rétablir symboliquement cette liberté de non-exposition en collant des boutons “Fermer la fenêtre” sur toute pollution de l’espace public.

CLOSING THE WINDOW ON REAL LIFE POP-UPS

On the Internet, getting rid of unsollicited pop-ups is pretty easy. In real life, things are a tad more complicated.
The Pop_Down Project aims at symbolically restoring everyone’s right to non-exposure: Just stick a “Close window” button on any public space pollution.
Pop_Down. It’s up to you!

We’re down with the Pop_down Project.

You can download the images and create your own stickers.

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November 23, 2008

We are now carrying out research into urban life in the 20 arrondissements of Paris. Expect more photos as we look at the graffiti and art of Paris’ streets and explore the ambiences of the city of lights, employing the situationist/lettrist methods of dérive, détournement and psychogeography.

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On the Canal de l’Ourcq

Near the periphery of Paris in the 19th on either side of the Canal de l’Ourcq is the Parc de la Villette, as designed in 1982 by deconstructrivist architect Bernard Tschumi. The park was built over the former grounds of the old slaughterhouses and meat district, and now is the second largest greenspace in Paris proper. With an elevated walkway next to and over the canal, a giant geodesic dome and multiple seemingly purposeless structures and sculptures, the Parc de la Villette is an example of a park of follies—a folly being a building that has no purpose other than decoration.

Parc de la Villette has 35 follies to explore. It might just awaken in you your inner homo ludens. Consider that Tschumi’s contemporaries and influences were Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida and the Situationist International; that “there is no space without event”.

From the Parc de la Villette, the Canal de l’Ourcq ejects you from Paris’ 19th arrondissement on a bike path through the banlieues, past warehouses and industrial parks—follies of abandon, decorated now with the expressions of graffiti art.

As one continues on along the concrete embankments of the Canal de l’Ourcq is one of the longest, most impressive graffiti galleries I’ve encountered yet in France.

More Paris graffiti here.

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August 14, 2007

RIP Warm Water Cove

What was this:

Has been reduced to this:

I wish I had known about the “community” action that buffed all of Warm Water Cove park and been there to protest. Of course it wasn’t really mentioned at all except for a call for volunteers on the SF connect website. The action was entitled “Reclaim Warm Water Cove Park.” Reclaim it from whom, for whom? For the new neighbors in their high-rise luxury condos? SF is in a pretty sad state.

And as far as picking weeds goes, the volunteers basically cleaned out the entire park of any existing greenery, including bushes. What did they put in its place? WOODCHIPS. Great. It’s so inviting now, with no art, no bushes or grass, only a dark green wall with razorwire and intimidating signs stating the penal code and “DO NOT DEFACE”. Now its a family park.

What I don’t understand is how the company who owns the fence, and partially supported the whitewashing, only paints over the side of the fence facing the park. According to the city’s taken-for-scripture “broken-windows theory“, doesn’t this still promote a “lawless atmosphere” and constitute urban blight?

Mark O’Hanlon, a “25+ year Dogpatch resident,” reminds us that before there was the graffiti art,

Warm Water Cove used to be a very dangerous gangs and guns area before the artists ( and mobile homeless)took over.

Doesn’t a public park belong to all of the community? Unfortunately the city only wants to acknowledge certain constituents as being part of the “community” and the graffiti writers who painted at the cove as well as the homeless who slept in the bushes (or the “weeds” that had to be pulled) are not recognized as members of said “community.”

Gavin Newsom apparently had some lipservice to pay, claiming he’ll

“invest in programs that promote appropriate places for graffiti,’’ which might include a public wall in Warm Water Cove Park… (from SFgate)

Appropriate places for graffiti? Then it isn’t graffiti anymore! They already had a public wall at Warm Water Cove Park.. What are they going to do, put a new concrete wall up and have a “community” curation team that will decide who paints what where? Why does all art have to be bureaucratized? If urban blight is what they are trying to cure, then get the industries to clean up their act and their properties. Of course the only thing they can think of to do is “clean up” that little park even though it is surrounded by deteriorating industrial warehouses. It would take a lot more than that to make the area palatable to the yuppie tastes. But I’m pretty sure what will happen soon enough is those industries, who aren’t pulling in as much revenue as their land is worth, will soon be torn down to make way for… wait for it…. MORE LUXURY CONDOS! Because that’s what San Francisco is all about. Makin’ money.

One of the wonderful things about graffiti though, is its perseverance. Those walls won’t stay drab for long. The city will get tired of patrolling that park anyway, like it always has. I highly doubt it will suddenly undergo a drastic change into a super friendly “family” park, with all the amenities of a park bench and a picnic table. Access to the waterfront consists of a pile of concrete rubble falling into the bay. Is that a place where anyone would want their toddler to play? Despite that, according to the “community” the only dangerous aspect of the park was the garbage and the paint on its walls.

That park was a site of cultural production, a disused, in-between space made relevant by the actions of artists. It was a destination for graffiti writers and those who appreciate that form of art, as well as those who can see the aesthetic in that which is cast aside, rusted over and deteriorated.

Must this city only be subjected to the aesthetic ideals of the propertied classes and boring, shallow pedants? In public space, apparently only some views are accepted.

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August 2, 2007

Forays into the new Federal building temporarily on hold.

The imposing new San Francisco Federal Building had already been partially built when I came back to SF from Japan, so it was kind of a surprising new addition to the skyline. I read in this interview with the architect that the skygarden at the top is a dedicated public space. Interested in how public a space feels when subjected to a security bag x-ray and metal detector scan prior to entry, I attempted to visit the building the other day, only to find out that it will be closed to the general public for another 90 days. So we have to wait until October to see the view from the top.

Photo by Nic Lehoux

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urban environments

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August 1, 2007

Hijacking public space

PARK (ing) Day, originally uploaded by Laughing Squid.

September 21st is PARK (ing) day in San Francisco and its coming up soon. Last year I ran across this PARK (ing) spot outside of Ritual Coffee Roasters, but didn’t quite grasp what it was all about. Little did I know but many other parking spots were occupied throughout the city on that day, transformed into public parks. The logic of the day is: as long as you pay the meter, what does it matter what is “parked” there? PARK (ing) day emphasizes how much urban space is given over to automobiles rather than other uses, such as parks. And some people would write a petition to Increase parking in SF. (Ah, how so many cling to the automobile age… I almost relish the idea of all the oil running out and our civilization entering the new dark age…)

PARK (ing) day is one of the projects of a SF based art group called Rebar. I was introduced to their work at Southern Exposure’s “Mapping The City” symposium at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Coming from an architecture, design and performance art perspective, Rebar explores the ambiguities of public space in the city. The project they presented at the symposium was entitled COMMONspace, in which the group explored, mapped and investigated the 14 Privately-Owned Public Open Spaces (POPOS) in downtown San Francisco. POPOS are on private property, but according to a city zoning code, are designated as public space. What Rebar concluded is due to the high level of security and surveillance surrounding these spaces, their “publicness” is questionable. To test this, Rebar came up with a series of “paraformances” to stretch the boundaries of what is socially acceptable behavior in these spaces.

The paraformance—an intentional reframing of reality—often begins subtly, as a playful, “plausibly deniable” action by a single individual, and can culminate in full scale, “flash mob”-style occupations that engage the participation of their accidental audiences.

The paraformances took the form of games or kite-flying—innocent activities but generally inappropriate in a downtown business setting.

The Space Hijackers are a London-based group of “anarchitects” with a history since 1999. Their activities respond to the increasing take-over of space by private interests, the engineering of space for profit and architecture as a means of perpetuating hierarchy. From their manifesto:

The Space Hijackers operate here, working to corrupt the language of architecture. We attempt to create situations or place objects within architectural space that affect the way in which that space is then experienced. We create myths within space that then go on to become a part of that space. Therefore the authority of the owner’s text is unbalanced as another voice is now heard. The actions and objects become a part of the history of the space and thus become part of its language. We attempt to produce an oral architecture, which critiques the text of the architect and re-contextualises it.

The seriousness of their manifesto belies the cheekiness of their actions. Acting as “flash mob” style happenings, they’ve taken over carriages in the Circle Line tube in London for annual parties, played midnight cricket matches with business types gathered from the pubs downtown, and surreptitiously planted ivy in forgotten corners of corporate architecture.

Space hijackers telling it like it is, originally uploaded by the greenman.

Both Rebar and Space Hijackers test the boundaries of our public space using a humorous and lighthearted approach. Without that, the critique might be lost, as the overly serious response of authorities might be deserved, and therefore un-mockable. What must be realized is the relative absurdity of surveillance and security enforcing not only so-called harmful deviant behavior but even slight social norms in public open spaces. Yes we want our security systems to stop acts of terrorism, but does that include acts like skateboarding or playing cricket matches?

An astute member of the audience at the De Young symposium raised the question to Rebar of how much their actions pushed the envelope when most of the participants were well-groomed, well-dressed young to middle age white folk. How receptive would private security be to a group of black young people congregating in one of their POPOS? Or some homeless people taking advantage of their benches for an afternoon nap? We can talk all day about our rights to fly a kite off a rooftop plaza in corporate downtown, but the truth is people are pushed out of public spaces all the time.

What is important however, is that we are informed of our rights when utilizing the public space that is offered to us. Many of the codes surrounding these spaces are ambiguous when it comes to the protection of our freedom of speech. And it is up to us to stretch it to the limit, expand and vigorously insist upon our rights in public space and to change the language and code of urban planning and architecture to reflect the diversity of voices in the city, not just the propertied ones.

BTW* I am planning a PARK (ing) spot for this year’s PARK (ing) day. I’m hoping to set it up by that Arco station on Fell and Divisadero where drivers hoping to save a couple cents block up the bike lane, pushing bikers into traffic. I need to go out and scout the area and see how viable it is, but it might be a great way to taunt bike lane blockers and put up some stickers etc. If you want to help out contact me by leaving a comment…

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urban environments

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July 27, 2007

Terrorism in Brasilia

Brasilia is the ultimate planned, rationalized city, designed by Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemayer in the 1950’s, perhaps the closest realization to the ideals of Corbusier’s Ville Radieuse. The city was built in a span of only four years, completely master-planned around grand plazas, huge avenues and butterfly interchanges, lined with the capital’s modernist Ministry buildings, residential sectors in huge apartment blocks, entertainment and cultural sectors all zoned and planned by one team of designers. Lucio Costa planned the city down to the last detail, even prescribing the color and design of taxi cabs and bus drivers’ uniforms.

A city planned in neutral whites, greys, glass, concrete and steel is a perfect canvas for the colorful re-creation and re-inscription by graffiti artists. I was glad to find these videos from Art 65 and Cent 5 Crew, aptly named “Terrorism in the Capital” which follow several Brasilia graffiti writers: TOFO, DRAO, AMINO and others.

Chapter 3 of “Terrorism in the Capital” is particularly revealing of the shock of graff color in the drab, decaying apartment blocks and side streets of the modernist capital.

WPvideo 1.10

ART 65 - Terrorismo na capital part 3

Found via Art Crimes.

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April 6, 2007

Leo Fitzmaurice on public space

Pingmag’s Leslie Kuo posted an interview with artist Leo Fitzmaurice that is really interesting. They get into a revealing discussion on the nature of public space:

Youâ€™ve said you are interested in public spaces and that they are â€œdisappearingâ€. Do you mean it as physically disappearing or rather being overwhelmed by visual, commercial intrusions?

In England many public spaces are disappearing to developers â€“ as parks and football fields being sold â€“ but this isnâ€™t really what I mean. I guess that as we spend more time in front of a screen or with our heads in magazines and listening to MP3 players, we spend less time when and where we actually are.

I realized after reading Michel de Certeauâ€™s Practice of Everyday Life that one thing I am doing (and we all do in some way) is to consume public space and by consuming it in some way we make it our own thus privatizing it to some extent. But instead we spend our time consuming other stuffâ€¦

To describe this positive thing you do, and hope others will do, with public space, youâ€™ve used verbs that are often used critically to describe corporations and consumer culture, e.g. privatize, or consume. Is this conscious â€“ are you trying to reclaim the words or reclaim the activities?

I think I am more interested in reclaiming the activities in some way â€“ it is more fun.

What do you want to do with public space through your work? How do you wish for your interventions to affect passers-by?

I would like people to become more aware of the potential around them and encourage ways we can consume material and space that is not prescribed.

I want to make something my own in some way but also for this to become a dialogue with other people. I would like people to think of A to B as a destination. The side of the road or a car park is a public space. I like to feel my feet on surfaces â€“ I like to stop where people are normally going. I want to create space for myself – and others.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

One question I have, why does he call his art intervention project “Detourist”? Is this a play on the word “detourne” mashed with “tourist”?

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February 28, 2007

Open City

I am seriously thinking of whipping out my new credit card and buying a ticket to NY for this one:

Presented by Eyebeam, Open City: Tools for Public Action is an exhibition documenting the ingenuity of graffiti writers, artists, protesters, pranksters and hackers reclaiming the public realm. By presenting the artifacts and tools of the artists, the exhibition offers a deeper look at the means and motivations of urban action and creativity. Open City hopes to inspire its audience to make their own tools for public action. (my italics)

The exhibition runs from March 1st through April 7th, and I already took off some days from work for spring break so I think I will coincide the trip with those days: between the 10th and 18th of March. One stipulation, I must secure at least one interview in order to make my trip really worthwhile. Any help on this is appreciated! ie. if you are in NY and you are or know someone who is a street artist, graffiti writer, or someone with an opinion on the topic of art and urban activism, contact me!

People affiliated with LIU: does anyone know John Fekner personally? I believe he is on the staff at CW Post or something. That would be nice to fit a meeting in with him whilst back East.

As far as street art is concerned right now New York is red hot. I gotta get out there.

My thesis is coming along besides my devastating (until now) lack of internet service. Things are back online and I am working working working. Now if I could just go see this exhibition…..................

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December 5, 2006

Banksy’s critique of architecture

WPvideo 1.10

Banksy – Boring

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• Next Page »

December 8, 2008

Pop_down project

November 23, 2008

Autoterrorist: Paris edition

On the Canal de l’Ourcq

August 14, 2007

RIP Warm Water Cove

August 2, 2007

Forays into the new Federal building temporarily on hold.

August 1, 2007

Hijacking public space

July 27, 2007

Terrorism in Brasilia

April 6, 2007

Leo Fitzmaurice on public space

February 28, 2007

Open City

December 5, 2006

Banksy’s critique of architecture

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