POPaganda: The Art & Crimes of Ron English

“POPaganda: The Art & Crimes of Ron English” is a feature-length documentary by Pedro Carvajal about our good friend, pop artist and billboard liberator Ron English. Pedro’s documentary is featured in SF DocFest 2005 with screenings taking place on Friday, May 13th and Saturday, May 21st at Women’s Building in San Francisco.

Pedro, who I met through Ron when he started work on this film a few years back, did a wonderful job documenting the amazing art of Ron English, including footage of Ron modifying billboards in broad daylight. Even local favorites The Billboard Liberation Front make a guest appearance.

POPagandist, billboard bandit, post-pop pundit, post-punk prankster, counter-cultural cartoonist, subvertising executive, culture jammer. Ron first gained fame in 1982 by surreptitiously reworking billboards to critique American society, risking arrest in the process. EnglishÂ’s career has had a wide trajectory, incorporating neo-surrealist paintings, staged photographs, street art, and music.

Ron’s art, specifically his Ronald McDonald paintings, was recently featured in the fast food documentary Super Size Me. Stay tuned for a solo show of Ron English’s work at Varnish Fine Art in San Francisco, May 28th-July 2nd, 2005.