After we finished up with the daytime install of the Pattison Pillars, some of the volunteers remained behind to begin the prep for the nighttime mission- Illegal Billboards! (We had cool names; the daytime mission was called Ground Team, and the nighttime mission was called Sky Team.)

Above are most of the billboards that the team I was with hit (We did an additional three other billboards). I was rolling with Jordan, Sean, a film crew, (now into their third year of preparing a full-length documentary on public art and advertising- I’m sure I’ll keep you up to date with that…) and Liliana Velásquez, who did an amazing performance as the “Goddess of Transformation” on a large billboard that we whitewashed for her. Her performance was, hands down, the best performance art that I have ever been witness to. It was the moment, the night, the unique, unreproducible specialness of it all, but it was also such a great use of the billboard as a structure. Most ad takeovers only treat the advertising structure as the advertisers do- a place to mount 2D work. Here the whole thing was used and transformed as a stage- the wasteful billboard spotlight became a theater footlight, the platform for installing work became a thin stage, and the billboard, once whitewashed, became the backdrop where anything could happen. Once the billboard was transformed into a stage, you could really see, as if seeing a billboard for the first time, how goddamn huge they are. I mean, it’s an Ad. And it’s big enough to easily stage a performance on. And they are everywhere. That’s kinda crazy, right? It reminded me of the person who sewed a wearable car suit and walked around in it through crowded public places to remind people of just how big and selfish a cars space needs are- especially in a city- whether parked or driving… anyone recall the name of that artist?

Anyway, here’s a video that captures a little of the magic:

…and you can see some of the Billboards done by the other team here!

Hello Friends!

It’s been some time. I can now finally tell you why I’ve been elusive of late. I’ve been away because I’ve been very busy helping to plan and execute TOSAT!

If you’re in Toronto, you may have already heard about it, but if you have not, let me give you the low-down:

After coming up to New York by myself to participate in the first NYSAT, and then with a solid crew of Torontonians for the second NYSAT, Jordan, the creator and driving force behind the SAT project became convinced that Toronto would be an ideal city to bring it to next. I believe it was Sean Martindale who first made the suggestion that TOSAT should happen, shortly after the completion of NYSAT 2!
Since that time, we have been talking, planning and recruiting other help (Martin Reis & Vanessa of DUSPA have both been invaluable!) which culminated last weekend when it all went down! Successfully!

I’d like to thank all the volunteers that installed artwork during the day on the Pattison Pillars (including my own work above, which I did NOT install myself!) and everyone that helped with the Billboards at night, which I will talk more about tomorrow!

Thank you so much everyone!

More Soon!

I was recently trackside in the Bronx.

Put up this lil’ Birdhouse!

Buried underneath a bridge in Toronto, you will find the massive vault door to Vault 13.

I thought it was in California!

Ah well, I hope they are OK in there. No problems with the water chip or anything.

It’s a Follow Up Friday!!

The wall I painted Mr. Harper onto was recently buffed. Whoever was sent to paint over the graffiti generously decided to leave my stencil unmolested! (You can see how they carefully went around the outline of the stencils head, and you can also see the little bit of brown paint on his helmet where a less careful tagger dipped into the stencil- now buffed.)

This could be because the stencil was somehow mistaken for official mural work. It could be because the buffman liked the work or was politically sympathetic- Harper hasn’t made alot of friends in Toronto. But it could also just be Harpers unaccountable knack for escaping normal consequences unscathed.

P.S.: The number “900″ on Harper’s helmet was selected to represent, at the time, the estimated number of arrested: the largest mass arrests in Canada ever. That number is now known to be more than 1000.

More Hops. A little Nugget sprout.

I’m trying to up my odds of seeing some hops survive and flourish through greater numbers.

I’ll keep sending them out just as quickly as I can nurture them.

Just call me Johnny Hoppleseed!

Unfortunately, when I went to check on the hops that I’d previously planted I found that they had died.

Last I’d checked, the hops were doing great and had lots of new growth, but I had to leave town for a bit, and that heat wave must have did them in while I was away.

So here’s some fresh hops- also planted by the rail tracks. It is a bigger, more established plant. Lets see how it does!

P.S. The last Variety of hop was Centennial. This new one is Nugget.

It’s a Flickr Friday!

I was on Flickr and came across these very sexy pics by Carl W. Heindl! Lovely ladies love to be lovely near Posterchild Illegal Artworks!

Check out the original shots here!

P.S. this spot is a little out of the way, but not exactly secluded! That’s one brave and bold lady!

P.P.S. Thanks Carl!

When we went to attach the new lovers lock you saw a few days ago- we found something exciting: The first lovers locks that I wasn’t responsible for!!

Great to see these. Congratulations to the two couples!

Just a lil’ something