Abstract
'Advertising for all; or nobody at all; reclaim public opinion'. By the Freee art collective is an artwork commissioned by Contemporary Visual Arts Network (CVAN) as part of the project, In Another Place. The billboard poster was installed as part of the billboard advertising network and facilitated as any other advertising poster in this context by Clear Channel. The poster was on site from 1st June – 15th June 2018 St. James Mill Road, Northampton.
Freee on advertising: advertising is a mode of participating in the public sphere based on the ability to pay for rented space in publishing media. All advertising in its current form – ie the capitalist occupation of the public sphere by business – has the social function of converting readers and viewers into consumers. By contrast, the social function of the critique of advertising is to insert advertising into a culture of critical readers and viewers. Guerrilla advertising engages both in a specific critique of advertising techniques and a general political critique of the society that requires advertising to survive
From publicising to publishing
Freee have made a number of text and image works that appear on commercial billboard sites in the public realm; these works operate to demonstrate that advertising spaces can be reclaimed and utilised as a site for opinion formation.
Advertising is a mode of participating in the public sphere based on the ability to pay for rented space in publishing media. All advertising in its current form – i.e. the capitalist occupation of the public sphere by business – has the social function of converting readers and viewers into consumers. By contrast, as this research aims to address, the social function of the critique of advertising is to insert advertising into a culture of critical readers and viewers. Guerrilla advertising engages both in a specific critique of advertising techniques and a general political critique of the society that requires advertising to survive.
This research project attempts to:
1. Understand the way in which advertising operates as a debased public sphere through its presence in public space and its function as publicity for commercial goods and services. This is perpetuated in the technocratic system of billboard advertising which results in commercially managed sites in the public realm.
2. Use the means and systems in which advertising works in order to demonstrate its function. Rather than explore the social function of advertising through unofficial means of graffiti, this research demonstrates that systems can be utilised and recolonised for political means of self-publishing.
3. Contest advertising’s original function by recognising the potential of its social function for social change.
A commission by Contemporary Visual Art Network East Midlands for
'In Another Place ', a celebration of contemporary art produced and presented by venues in the East Midlands.
"10 regional organisations have invited visual artists to present original artworks on advertising billboards in a range of locations for 6 weeks. Transforming these everyday hoardings into a vibrant display across the region, In Another Place aims to bring art to audiences, in places where normally they would see advertising.
In Another Place is a collaboration between the Contemporary Visual Arts Network East Midlands and ten venues bringing new art to new audiences." CVAN-EM
Freee on advertising: advertising is a mode of participating in the public sphere based on the ability to pay for rented space in publishing media. All advertising in its current form – ie the capitalist occupation of the public sphere by business – has the social function of converting readers and viewers into consumers. By contrast, the social function of the critique of advertising is to insert advertising into a culture of critical readers and viewers. Guerrilla advertising engages both in a specific critique of advertising techniques and a general political critique of the society that requires advertising to survive
From publicising to publishing
Freee have made a number of text and image works that appear on commercial billboard sites in the public realm; these works operate to demonstrate that advertising spaces can be reclaimed and utilised as a site for opinion formation.
Advertising is a mode of participating in the public sphere based on the ability to pay for rented space in publishing media. All advertising in its current form – i.e. the capitalist occupation of the public sphere by business – has the social function of converting readers and viewers into consumers. By contrast, as this research aims to address, the social function of the critique of advertising is to insert advertising into a culture of critical readers and viewers. Guerrilla advertising engages both in a specific critique of advertising techniques and a general political critique of the society that requires advertising to survive.
This research project attempts to:
1. Understand the way in which advertising operates as a debased public sphere through its presence in public space and its function as publicity for commercial goods and services. This is perpetuated in the technocratic system of billboard advertising which results in commercially managed sites in the public realm.
2. Use the means and systems in which advertising works in order to demonstrate its function. Rather than explore the social function of advertising through unofficial means of graffiti, this research demonstrates that systems can be utilised and recolonised for political means of self-publishing.
3. Contest advertising’s original function by recognising the potential of its social function for social change.
A commission by Contemporary Visual Art Network East Midlands for
'In Another Place ', a celebration of contemporary art produced and presented by venues in the East Midlands.
"10 regional organisations have invited visual artists to present original artworks on advertising billboards in a range of locations for 6 weeks. Transforming these everyday hoardings into a vibrant display across the region, In Another Place aims to bring art to audiences, in places where normally they would see advertising.
In Another Place is a collaboration between the Contemporary Visual Arts Network East Midlands and ten venues bringing new art to new audiences." CVAN-EM
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2018 |
![IAP-Billboard-setup-final-NN-freee[4]](/files/7240261/IAP_Billboard_setup_final_NN_freee_4_.jpg){kind=link}