Surveillance Camera Billboard Prank

posted by Scott Beale on Wednesday, December 28th, 2005

Ted Rheingold has the scoop on an awesome surveillance camera billboard prank at the corner of 5th and Howard Streets in San Francisco. Here’s his initial write-up, follow-up report and Flickr photoset.

But this is one of those pranks where the jokes on us. The prankster is using superlative to remind us the society and culture we have come to accept: surveillance cameras on all sides; facial recognition reviews; and even nation-wide car journey monitoring. If you canâ€™t see a giant surveillance camera out your window, I donâ€™t think youâ€™re looking hard enough.

UPDATE: SFGate: Culture Blog! did some more research and discovered the project behind this and other billboards is the Double Take a Billboard Project, in conjunction with New Langton Arts, The Creative Work Fund and Clear Channel Outdoor (shocking, I know). Here’s Ted’s follow-up.

photo credit: Ted Rheingold

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filed under: Art, Pranks, San Francisco

this blog post was written by Scott Beale on Wednesday, December 28th, 2005

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Ted Rheingold 12/28/2005 03:27 PM 1 point
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Rereading one's quote really makes one wish for an editor. By 'superlative' I meant 'visual hyperbole' or the literary usage of 'gigantism.'

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http://www.spideysenses.com

Christina 12/29/2005 05:45 PM 1 point
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I think it's part of this art project: http://www.doubletakebillboards.com/

... funded (in part) by Clear Channel.

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Ted Rheingold 12/29/2005 07:05 PM 1 point
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Dang! Not a prank, commissioned art. I like it still, but, we'll, that's one more canvas we have to triple guess how it's being used.

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http://www.spideysenses.com

Rene 02/25/2006 05:58 PM 1 point
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WHO OWNS THE WALLS?

In Portland, Oregon- Clear Channel is suing the City in order to stop a one-year-old Public Art Murals Prgram that givers permits and funding to community murals (you know, the kind painted by actual artists and regular people).

There will be a trial to determine the outcome of this public art issue, beginning on April 12, 2006- Clear Channel (formerly AK Media) vs City of Portland.

Clear Channel successfully argued in Multnomah County Circuit Court back in 1998 that murals and other "signs" (billboards, painted wall ads, wall wraps) all had to be regulated by the City's sign code (a 100 page book of rules on what can be put on a wall).

In effect, after Clear Channel won in 1998- public art no longer existed.

All we had left was "signs".

This Langton Arts collaboration is a sickening example of Clear Channel's continued usurping our right to artistic expression.

Is there no corner of our civic life that does not need a "gift" or a stamp of approval from a multi-national mega-billion dollar-a-year corporation?

Clear Channel seems to be moving strongly toward the goal of "providing us with our free speech rights". And this is exactly what Clear Channel CEO's have said about similar "public art" projects that they have done in Portland (including the Not A Crime graffiti art campaign- a billboard project done in conjunciton with Rumblefish).

Clear Channel must be stopped!!!

For more on this, see: indefenseofart.blogspot.com

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Rene 03/29/2006 09:39 PM 1 point
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Update on Clear Channel v City of Portland (murals) trial:
The court proceedings have been postponed until October 2, 2006.
Artists will continue to paint throughout the summer!

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natalie 04/20/2006 05:55 AM 1 point
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Thank you Rene! Really shows where the power lies.. Clear channel wants to tell us what is good, what is culture, what is art.

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http://friends-world.org/nstanchfield

Charlie 11/24/2006 04:53 PM 1 point
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If you think about it, if it looks real enough to passing criminals, it could actually act as a deterrent.

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http://www.camera-spies.com

Surveillance Camera Billboard Prank

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