Father Geek here with some uber coolness for you to keep an eye, or two, out for. One of America's most important visual artists is coming to the big screen and for those of you who live in oppressed viewing areas, have faith... DVD's will not be far behind...
The 2005 Artivist Film Festival and the Newport Beach Film Festival will be presenting Pedro Carvajal's hilarious and rambunctious feature length documentary "POPaganda: The Art & Crimes of Ron English".
Friday, April 22nd @ 12:00 pm at the Lido Theater, 3459 Via Lido, Newport Beach, CA.
Friday, April 22nd @ 8:00 pm at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA.
Bombarded by relentless advertising in a growing culture of junk, one man-activist/artist Ron English has hijacked corporate advertising, challenging us to change the sham of reality they've created and reminding us that free speech still lives. He is a 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. English's career has had a wide trajectory, incorporating neo-surrealist paintings, staged photographs, street art, and music.
Bringing his messages to the masses through billboards and other forms of outdoor marketing, Ron takes traditional advertising hostage, subverting familiar images and words into confrontational art. Whether attacking a popular fast food chain with a manipulated image of its popular icon emblazed with the words "Phat Food," or taking on a tobacco giant and simply covering their logo with the word "breathe," Ron implores us to re-evaluate what we see and succumb to it no more. Infused with Ron's infectious passion, THE ART & CRIMES OF RON ENGLISH is an engaging thrill ride into the life and art of the "billboard bandit" that will inspire and activate.
Watch the trailer at: http://www.popaganda.com/popDocumentary.shtml
Pedro Carvajal has made documentaries on East Village squatters, the Yanomami, and an award-winning film on AIDS patient Karen Sofield. His videos Citizen Art and Subvertising focus on culture jamming in public spaces, particularly billboard liberation, in which an outdoor ad is altered to critique the original company or product, or deliver a public service message. Pedro has chosen music for his film by: The Dandy Warhols, Daniel Johnston, Tripping Daisy, and many others.
