Culture jamming – imho – is best seen by the works created by the minds that are the Billboard Liberation Front. By subtlety modifying advertisements in the public space, these “culture jammers” express an opinion about how they feel about the public space being inundated with advertisements (so-called “a-political” advertisements). Letting advertisers take up massive amounts of space creates an environment where it becomes increasingly more impossible (read too expensive) for artistic and political voices to have a place in the public sphere to express themselves – freedom of speech is effectively taken away by the fact that in order to adequately speak you have to have millions of dollars.
Another point to remember is that advertising is NOT a-political; rather it is a HIGHLY political medium (capitalism is about as political as you can get, right?!).
So, culture jammers see our common public sphere being acquired by private, political interests and this acquisition is at the expense of cultural interests that reside outside of capital. I totally agree and love the idea of re-interpreting advertisements and putting them back out into the public. I can’t say I’m as good as the folks at BLF but, personally, I don’t really think it’s about “being good”.
About the image. The public transportation train in the SF Bay ARea is called BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and their police force has committed some serious blunders in their time but most recently they went over the edge. One night on the train there was a ruckus and the police took some people aside for questioning and felt one (Oscar Grant) was being uncooperative. So one of the officers forced Oscar to the ground and while Oscar lay face down on the concrete, with his arm twisted behind him, the cop proceeded to shoot him in the back. Dead. This whole scene was caught on video from various sources and no where is it clear that Oscar was ever resisting nor was his behavior warranting the use of a taser (the weapon the cop says he was intending to go for). Anyway, it’s a really, really sad story of which BART has not really made any significant changes that people can see. I mean they haven’t shot anyone lately so I reckon that’s a good thing. But when I saw BART’s new “…and you’re there” advertisements the first thing that came to mind was the above image. Not a masterpiece but you get the point.
Here’s an older image of mine. One in which I received my very own cease-and-desist letter from those wonderfully wealthy corporate attorneys at BofA…
I’ve got a couple of events that might be of interest for those in the SF Bay Area. One is audio focused (music) and the other is a little less but I think it’s very applicable for anybody working in the art or media field.
Switchboard Music Festival 2010: The third annual Switchboard Music Festival is an 8-hour, non- stop music spectacle presenting composers and musicians who push the boundaries of their respective genres. No other Bay Area music festival or concert series offers such an eclectic, genre-crossing, convention-breaking, bastardizing group of experimentalists, innovators, and musical omnivores in a single event.
Sunday, 28 March, 2010
02:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Cost:
$10 – $40 sliding scale
Venue:
Dance Mission
3316 24th Street at Mission
San Francisco, CA
Artist Talk: Right Here Right Now: [NOT HAPPENING - SEE COMMENT] How do we engage with art in an immediate, unmediated way? Through choreography and composition, 2009 AIRs Kara Davis and Aaron Ximm both work toward the specific goal of creating immediate experiences that absorb, capture and immerse their audiences. Davis is a dancer and choreographer who pushes the possibilities of improvisation and ignores the traditional boundaries between audience and performer. Ximm creates intimate, site-specific sound installations that translate fleeting moments captured by field recordings into present experiences. This program is a unique opportunity to engage with performance and experiential installation created by Davis and Ximm in response to their surroundings at Headlands.
Sunday, 29 August, 2010
07:30 PM – 09:00 PM
Cost:
Free
Venue:
Headlands Center for the Arts
944 Fort Barry
Sausalito, CA 94965
I finished my first week of truly pitching stories and I have to say, g-d damn is that process a b####! Oy vey. Anyway, I’m off to meet my wife for dinner but before I leave I tried experimenting in making my own “coffee” tequila. And well, it worked! 2 shots silver or reposado tequila, 1 shot kahlua. Mix in a high-ball glass with ice. Voila! Just be sure to use good (100% agave) tequila. Happy Friday everyone!
Hey, if you’re as much into hybridity as I am, you will most likely want to check out this January show in SF.
Masters of extreme technical death metal Nile are partnering up with long-time friends Immolation and Krisiun as well as Abigail Williams and Dreaming Dead for the first round of American tour dates in support of their new album, scheduled for worldwide release this Fall on Nuclear Blast Records.
The 32-date tour commences on January 15th, 2010 in Baltimore, Maryland.
Guitarist / musical mastermind Karl Sanders spoke with Revolver Magazine earlier this year and said Nile’s sixth full-length album will likely be their most eclectic offering to date: “We’re going to some very unexpected places. I’ve been listening to some oud [Middle Eastern lute] music, Iranian music, and some Hindu stuff, and that stuff’s definitely rubbing off on the new songs.”
Seriously, this sounds like it could be, shall I be cliche, AWESOME! Well, I guess that is still very subjective. Oh well, music lovers unite! http://www.slims-sf.com/ . You can also hear the CD HERE.
I really hate the idea of commercial brands USING musicians to sell their products. It’s a popular method that only seems to be growing. Check out this posting on the Audio4Cast blog. I’m all for artists getting paid but I guess I want to live in an ideal world where they get paid because their work is valued; not because their work is seen as a good platform to sell ones’ own product. Though I do have to back-peddle a bit. In my own ventures I am exploring the idea of connecting local businesses with local musicians as a way to boost each other. I see these two as having more in common and not so much of a “big guy” exploiting the “small guy”. Am I wrong?
I just caught wind that the supremely beautiful and happening South African band Mafikizolo will be touring the US soon. I haven’t been able to track any exact dates down but I strongly suggest seeing them perform if they come through your town. I got their CD when I was in South Africa working on my SisterLove documentary and actually use a bit of their sound in the project. You can find their CDs state-side but for ung-dly amounts of money as they’re not formally released here. But you’d rather listen to the crap they play on commercial radio anyways, right? WRONG! Anyway, check’em out on YouTube:
Update: You can check out the second part in my podcast series with Michigan-based hip-hop artist One Be Lo over at Imagine2050.org. Today we’re talking about hip-hop identity and American identity as we continue our exploration of the question, “What does it mean to be American.” Listen!
I just posted my newest “Imagine 2050″ podcast which is from my visit to Tempe, Arizona last week. It’s a short interview with hip-hop artist One Be Lo talking about music, youth and empowerment. Check it out!
I’m currently transferring the soundboard ‘tape’ I got from the “Stop the Circus. Stop Arpaio” hip-hop show I covered in Tempe, Arizona this week. I’m happy with the sound; it ain’t perfect but there are some very usable pieces to post. So, stay tuned as I’ll be posting some awesome sh*t from show for your listening pleasure. Sheriff Joe’s guys say he’s not concerned but Arizona’s young people showed a strong and positive force this week and I recommend that Joe start looking for a new job because the people coming up in AZ aren’t going to stand for his racist ways. Serious!
Culture jamming – imho – is best seen by the works created by the minds that are the Billboard Liberation Front. By subtlety modifying advertisements in the public space, these “culture jammers” express an opinion about how they feel about the public space being inundated with advertisements (so-called “a-political” advertisements). Letting advertisers take up massive amounts of space creates an environment where it becomes increasingly more impossible (read too expensive) for artistic and political voices to have a place in the public sphere to express themselves – freedom of speech is effectively taken away by the fact that in order to adequately speak you have to have millions of dollars.
I’ve got a couple of events that might be of interest for those in the SF Bay Area. One is audio focused (music) and the other is a little less but I think it’s very applicable for anybody working in the art or media field.
Hey, if you’re as much into hybridity as I am, you will most likely want to check out this January show in SF.
I really hate the idea of commercial brands USING musicians to sell their products. It’s a popular method that only seems to be growing. Check out 
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