The BLF advocates the disruption of consumer advertising through the liberation of billboards, upon which often equally well-designed messages are affixed, replacing the actual advertisement. The replacement often has the look and feel of an advertisement, consciously adopting its style. What the situationists would refer to as the detournement of commercial billboard advertising began in California in the mid-seventies. With the aid of new technologies, people adopting the BLFs tactics have become increasingly creative in their culture jamming, creating “subvertisements” that are often impossible to differentiate from actual advertisements save for their content.
revolutionary artistic movements
situationism
guy debord
subversion
detournement
culture jamming
arts activism
property destruction
clean surface
international psychogeographic society
random artists
homepage: http://www.billboardliberation.com/home.html
In the beginning was the
Ad. The Ad was brought to the consumer
by the Advertiser. Desire, self worth, self image, ambition, hope; all find
their genesis in the Ad. Through the Ad and the intent of the Advertiser we
form our ideas and learn the myths that makeus into what we are as a people.
That this method of self definition displaced the earlier methods is beyond
debate. It is now clear that the Ad holds the most esteemed position in our
cosmology. ("billboard liberation front manifesto " from billboard
liberation front website)
Acts of disruption and destruction—the destroying of consumer and corporate images and identity markers.
Guy debord and the situationists are quite influential.
The culture of consumption and the media that push it. adverts.
Spray cans and billboards (and of course, lovely photos on the internet)
Advocates violent (destruction
of property), non-branded tactics aimed at the disruption
of cultural life. The practical tactics of ‘billboard liberation’
are covered thoroughly in Billboard
Liberation Front’s website, the urban culture website, Smashing the Image
Factory provides a thorough manual of billboard destruction and liberation.
http://www.urban75.com/Action/factory.html
Vandalism is a bit of a
loaded term; people tend to think of the most brainless and ugly examples of
the appropriated canvas and then extrapolate from there to condemn the entire
genre. But vandalism can be beautiful, especially when what is being vandalized
starts out ugly.
From Billboard Liberation website http://www.sniggle.net/vandalism.php
Numerous and On-going.
Abrupt, Adbusters, The Cacophony Society, The California Department of Corrections,
Pedro Carvajal, Freeway Blooger, Guerrilla
Girls, The Lesbian Avengers of San Francisco, The Outdoor Advertising Association
of America, Inc., Reverand Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping, ®™ark,
Joey Skaggs, Slumber, Inc., Target Market, Tobacco Control Activism Guide #3,
Urbanize
Some groups with presence
on the Web: Maximum Participation Billboard Liberation http://www.syntac.net/hoax/Chalkboard/index.php
Busted Amsterdam Billboards ( http://www.geocities.com/bustedamsterdambillboards )
In it’s best form, a superlative example of detournement; at it’s worst, sloppy political vandalism. The idea of defacing markers for modern consumerist identity is a very disruptive and radical act. I’d like to think it’s moment where the fantasy of modern identity becomes halted and directly challenged. Culture jamming at it’s best. Furthermore, we like the idea of conflating the division between activist and prankster.
Billboart Liberation Front website:
http://www.billboardliberation.com/
BLF Manifesto
http://www.billboardliberation.com/manifesto.html
The Art and Science of Billboard Improvement
http://www.billboardliberation.com/guidebook.html