Archive for the ‘culture jamming’ tag
Pounding the asphalt
I know, it sounds unlikely. But Turkish artist Ahmet Ogut is in town, and he wanted to give a running lecture.

So we arrived at Artspace in Woolloomooloo, strapped on running shoes, and left along Cowper Wharf Road. Reuben Keehan, curator at Artspace, took photos.
Cutting through the back streets, we stopped at corners along the way – little holes in the urban fabric, pot plants, framed pictures on the wall – basically anywhere Ahmet could stash away an A4 print of his work.

Here’s one that’s in the show. It’s a 2005 work called ‘Somebody Else’s Car’ (picture from Ahmet’s website) – a series of 20 slides showing the artist sticking yellow panels and a little ‘Taksi’ box to the roof, turning the random car into an Istanbul taxi.
As we ran along the streets, Ahmet ferreted these plastic sleeved A4 prints out from wherever he’d hidden them, and explained the work, told stories, got laughs.
Ahmet’s work is really preoccupied with the moment between the person seeing the art and the art itself. He’s done things like cover the floor of a gallery with asphalt. Or this work, part culture jammer, part wonderful whimsy.

It’s a 2009 piece called ‘This area is under 23 hour video and audio surveillance’.
Okay, doing a lecture while running isn’t for everyone. And it does feel like an extension of what Ahmet does as an artist. But you’ve got to admit, it’s a particularly not-dull way of doing an artist lecture.
Hideous shop
Byron Bay-based micro-bikini company Wicked Weasel opened a flagship shop on Victoria Road, Darlinghurst, last year. They spared no expense fitting the huge place out, but I walk past most days and have never seen anyone go in or out.
I’ve been expecting some kind of culture jamming, considering the rapid response to billboards in the neighbourhood.

Spotted this bit of graffiti at about 7am this morning – so the shop’s either very fast at cleaning away the culture jam, or this is a first.
