Sketch 1 (#2/2)

Poster Boy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26296445@N05/

Deconstruct/dissect these works in terms of their components

ART - His work is a mixture of vandalism, graffiti and collage using only a razor blade, he slices up posters, billboards and advertisements hence, re-contextualizing the posters found in New York’s subway stations.

ACTIVISM - The subway stations turn into his own art galleries filled with pieces that criticize politics, news media, popular culture and current events.

TECHNOLOGY - His Flickr account includes his work. Visitors who cannot not see these works where they are, can visit his website and comment on the individual pieces. He also uses his Flickr account to encourage others to take up the movement. 


How do they influence/contextualize each other?

First, the posters can be seen as works of art and the subway stations as art galleries. Second, the context in which he chooses to rearrange these pieces takes on a message. Third, the use of photography and the internet makes his work accessible to the world – at least those with access to the internet. 


Are some of these parameters mute (transparent), while the others are emphasized? Are all three present equally?

For the people of New York City who get the access the art first hand by seeing it on the subway, the posters as activist and political art are emphasized over the technology part. Poster Boy encourages other people to take up the act and to use the name “Poster Boy.”

Is technology considered critically or does it function as a tool for getting the job done?

Technology is used as a tool to network and get the message across. Anyone with access to the internet, can access Poster Boy’s Flickr account which increases the distribution of the message.