Artists are trying all sorts of techniques to get by right now. The occupants of a top floor terrace on the corner of Forbes and Burton Streets, Darlinghurst, have paintings in the windows with a sign saying they are for sale.

Then these appeared.

Norman Pentzien, who’s based at 3 Darlinghurst Road, according to this, plastered poles around the neighbourhood this week.

If you need artwork on your wall, truck, clothes, or anywhere, small, big. Call me: 0406075108. Norman, I am experienced with any kind of architecture.

He’s on Facebook, and according to his Myspace page, on the road – Berlin, Goa, Sydney?

They’re pasted over and over and over each other. Posters for club nights, motivational speakers and politicians, and other things. And like many other cities, Sydney council’s been battling them for years.

Now the council’s banned pole posters, threatening a $1500 fine per poster (they’ve also banned the guys who clean your windows while you’re waiting at the lights).

And replaced them with eight of these ‘poster pillars’ at locations around the inner city.

But a poster distributor told City News the postering is legal.

I don’t think [council have] got a leg to stand on. It says in Hansard that [the Protection of the Environment Act] doesn’t apply to street posters fixed to telegraph poles. I’ve sent them a copy of Hansard.

“They’re saying it costs them $1.5 million per annum to pull posters down. It’s costing me about 80 or 90 cents to put up each one up and it’s costing them $4.40 to take each one down. I just think we can work together. Maybe they should just pay me the money to do it.

In any case, street press, papers, mags, blogs – all these things are important, but they’re pretty niche – posters jump out at everyone who walks by. Will anyone pay attention to the new law?