A thought-provoking work of art

Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 2:47 pm

Hi everyone.

My initial inspiration for starting this campaign was a typical dreary Monday morning, waiting for the Tube at my local station. The platform was full of bleary-eyed souls, some clutching their copy of Metro, some sipping coffee, some just staring blankly into space.

The only reading material available to those who hadn't brought a paper or a book was the posters that lined the platform, each the size of a barn door, all selling something to the captive audience. I suddenly realised that this riled me enormously. This was a public transport system, and yet it was plastered in private sponsorship messages, each one banal and irritating. And we had no choice but to read them.

And so the germ of Art Not Ads was born. Rather than mindless, intrusive advertising, I thought the commuters would benefit from something thought-provoking. Rather than an exhortation to spend yet more money, how would people feel if they had the option to look at a work of art instead? How would people react to using their brains, rather than having their thoughts mapped out for them?

And so I think we should choose a work of art. Of course, we still need to settle the question of what that would be, but I'm sure we can manage that. This would also be in line with the original wording of the pledge, which is of course what people have proimised to give their money towards. Changing it now would run the risk of losing donations. We can of course repeat the campaign again with another poster!

Joined: 24 Aug 2006 Posts: 2

Personally, I'd go for words and/or simple pictures rather than a work of art. I perceive the typical person to have little interest in art, especially a poster of a piece of art rather than the original, so this, in my opinion, would be a waste of space or money.

Basic (and original) pictures are nice - a huge big smiling face shows an obvious message but then isn't very thought provoking.

Words are magnificient. Everyone can read them and they can mean so much to individuals who can take alternate meanings, and who can react differently to them. Which words to put up I don't know, but an extract from philosophical writing or from a popular piece of fiction (if it's going to be thought provoking, someone like George Orwell rather than, say, Stephen King). However, would you need to pay much for the rights for a small extract ?

Joined: 16 Nov 2007 Posts: 5

HI everyone....

thanx for information............