JORDAN SEILER - THE AFTENBLAD WALL
Nuart is delighted to present New York-based public space artist and activist Jordan Seiler as the second invited artist for The Aftenblad Wall public art project.
Jordan Seiler is best known for his long-term civil disobedience project, PublicAdCampaign, which seeks to challenge outdoor advertising’s predominance in public space by providing public access to advertising displays in more than 40 cities the world over.
Since it’s inception in 2000, Seiler has used billboards as canvases for his own artwork and successfully coordinated multiple large-scale ‘interventions’ to draw attention to the expanding industry of outdoor advertising, especially in public space.
More recently, he has been exploring augmented reality’s capacity to function as a significant ad blocker in public space. In collaboration with Jowy Romano of Subway Art Blog, Seiler developed the NO AD mobile app, which swaps outdoor advertisements with a curated selection of art, and introduced it to the world at Nuart Festival 2012.
For his participation in The Aftenblad Wall public art project Seiler will encourage us to reflect on our relationship to advertising and public space through the use of augmented reality technology via the NuART x PAC app, developed specifically for this project.
The NuART x PAC app for iOS and Android is available as a free download via the links below:
About Jordan Seiler
Jordan Seiler founded PublicAdCampaign at the beginning of the millennium while attending The Rhode Island School of Design.
The group’s mission is to make more democratic and open public visual surroundings by challenging outdoor advertising’s predominance and activating public space.
By monetizing public space, outdoor advertising has monopolized the surfaces that shape our shared environment, with private property laws protecting the communications made through outdoor advertising.
PublicAdCampaign acts on the assumption that public space and the public's interaction with that space is a vital component of our city's health. By visually altering and physically interacting with the public environment, residents become psychologically invested in their community.
PublicAdCampaign has successfully managed to intercept several corporations from embarking upon and implementing the use of illegal street advertisements (otherwise known as corporate graffiti). By bringing this often egregious advertising under surveillance, these companies have faced legal prosecution and heavy fines.
Jordan Seiler has participated in numerous exhibitions and festivals worldwide, including Nuart 2012, and The Experiment at the ICA in Boston, 2012. His solo shows include Taking from the Tip Jar at Vincent Michael Gallery in 2011, and Removal Satisfies the Condition at The Canal Chapter in 2006. In 2015, he participated in an exhibition with the German contemporary artist Vermibus to mark the grand opening of Open Walls Gallery in Berlin.
Jordan Seiler lives and works in Brooklyn, New York City.
About The Aftenblad Wall (Ryfylkegata 22, 4014 Stavanger)
Created in partnership with Stavanger Aftenblad newspaper, The Aftenblad Wall by Nuart Festival Stavanger is a newly launched public art initiative that will see invited artists create work on a large-scale billboard in the heart of Stavanger.
The purpose of The Aftenblad Wall is to present a progressive and dynamic public art programme with reflection on the key issues of public space, advertising and the implications of public art practice at its core.
Nuart’s goal is to help redefine how we experience both contemporary and public art: to bring art out of museums, galleries and public institutions onto the city streets, and in some cases, vice versa.
Nuart has 15 years experience in producing both small and large-scale public artworks, and has witnessed, first hand, how numerous street artists have successfully adopted direct communication strategies to circumnavigate the traditional path into the art world.
Within the ever-evolving movement known as ‘street art’ the act of subverting advertisements (or ‘subvertising’) has long been utilised as a tool for social commentary and protest. By appropriating commercial billboards artists are able to raise awareness about who has the power and authority to communicate messages and create meaning in our urban environment. By mimicking the scale and visibility of advertising, The Aftenblad Wall also acknowledges street art’s heritage of ‘subvertising’.
The Aftenblad Wall is located at Ryfylkegata 22 in Storhaug, Stavanger east – a stones throw from Nuart Festival’s exhibition venue at Tou Scene Centre for Contemporary Art and in the heart of the city’s creative district.
The Aftenblad Wall’s inaugural artist was the Canadian painter Sandra Chevrier, who created her largest artwork to date as part of Nuart Festival’s 15th anniversary. Sandra Chevrier’s installation – as well as the construction and installation of the physical billboard – was co-founded by Nuart and Stavanger Aftenblad newspaper in September 2015.
This project is made possible with the support of Stavanger Kommune.
