BLF co-founder, CEO and chief bottle washer Jack Napier in art show in NYC. Finally outed by rock-n-roller Anton Newcombe, Jack Napier is forced to sell out after 35 years of anonymity. “Unlike Banksy, no one really seemed to care we were anonymous!” stated Napier (John Law). In like manner, BLF CIO _____ (Blank) DeCoverly has been unmasked as marketing exec Stuart Mangrum, though Mangrum insists he will continue to wear a mask at all times. “I have a big investment in masks,” he noted.
The Detournement show curated by cultural gadfly and “Illegal Art” expert Carlo McCormick is featured at the Jonathan Levine Gallery in Chelsea, NYC. Works by Shepard Fairey, Ron English the BLF and other criminal artists are featured.
Various artists featured in the book will be in attendance – get em all to sign your copy of the book.
Our little event should be a bit different from the signings at the Taschen company stores. BLF Chief Scientist Milton Rand Kalman, retired webmaster Conrad Hoc and I attended the NYC book party and it was more like a movie premier – lotsa schmoozing criminal artists well on their way from the alleys to the galleries hanging with hundreds of downtown art types, hoodie wearing suburban wanna be thugs and scantily clad party goers. We drank for free, filched as many copies of the book as we could and generally had a ball. I’m sure the LA and European premiers were similar.
We hope our shindig will be a bit different. We’re going to have an actual program (of sorts). Editor Ethel Seno will talk a bit about the book and (with luck) briefly interview any and all artists represented in the book that show up.
So far. We hear that Everman from Atlanta, Jason Epink – Catalog of Creative Triumphs and local hero Tony Labat will be in attendance. Who knows who else might be lurking about. Keep an eye out for fake beards and the like.
In the grand tradition of appropriations the BLF will then blatantly promote our own agenda after hijacking someone else’s. BLF CIO _______ DeCoverly will present in words and images: “A Brief History of Ocular Expropriation from Cro Magnon Man to Banksy” _________ or Blank as he is known to slower people, is one of the best copy writers and admen anywhere. Not to be missed!
See ya’ll there. I’ll be the one in black.
-Jack Napier, BLF CEO
Blank DeCoverly, BLF spokesperson will be appearing live along with other SF celebrities at CELLSpace on January 21st!
The greatest game show ever to hit the small screen returns in a star-studded LIVE production! Watch as two contestants match their wits against a panel of San Francisco’s most outrageous celebrities in a verbal slugfest of double-entendres. The first episode of Match Game SF is here! Tune in on January 21st at CELLSpace as our contestants vie for big prizes for their favorite charity. Not available on TV! Don’t miss it!
Billboard Liberation agents can use the code ‘majormajor’ to get $2 off advance tickets at Brown Paper Tickets
We at the BLF have been assisting fatigued advertising copywriters to strengthen their corporate messages for over thirty years. Advertising is the language of our Culture, as BLF CEO Jack Napier noted almost as many years ago. And the primary use of language is to to communicate ideas. The most efficient and direct communication of an idea comes through the most elegant use of the least amount of words to communicate that idea. It’s quite clear from the image in this Stella Artois billboard ad what the message IS. The BLF merely wishes to assist this campaign by paring down the words in order to match that message most perfectly. - BLF Education Officer, R.O. Thornhill.
The improvement can be seen at 38th St and 8th Ave in midtown New York.
The BLF (www.billboardliberation.com) has been improving outdoor advertising since 1977. Prior campaigns have included work for Exxon, R.J. Reynolds, and Apple Computers.
The BLF is very pleased to be one of the featured “artists” in the soon to be released Taschen compendium on “Street Art” entitled Trespass. This heavy hitting tome promises to be the final word on the gamut of criminal artists (not merely graph guys). It is written by the premier world authority on weirdo underground artists, Paper Magazine editor, and general all around cool guy, Carlo McCormick. It is produced by the excellent Wooster Collective’s Marc & Sarah Schiller, long time supporters and promoters of crazy kids with crayons that should know better. When originally asked by Carlo to contribute to this book a couple of years ago, I was thrilled and a little apprehensive. Tashen: what beautiful books! A joy to be in, I was sure. “But Carlo….. do we have to take our clothes of for a group shot?!?!?!?”
The Billboard Liberation Front (BLF) is honored to announce a new marketing partnership with Philip Morris (PM) that finally brings together the rugged sense of American independence with your most important choice as a consumer: your death. The message of “My Life. My Death. My Choice.” informs and empowers the consumer to choose, as their god given right, how they want to die. Philip Morris brings this message to the consumer to remind them that some rights are inalienable in life as they are in death.
“We’ve always said that the only two things in life that are unavoidable are death and taxes,” commented Michael E. Szymanczyk, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Philip Morris. “This campaign drives home that message where, if you are gonna die, might as well do it on your terms. Just like our Marlboro Men did.” According to Patrick B. Smelt, Chief of Marketing, “This bold message of independence and demanding life and death on your terms fits with the current zeitgeist of anti-establishmentarianism and post-post-modern rage at the repressive state demanding a healthier you and your environment.”
The BLF was honored to accept this exciting challenge. “We have no comment on President Obama’s health care reform, but many consumer of Philip Morris’s products do. We felt that this campaign picks up on a widespread rage that some nameless, faceless bureaucrat might give them cheaper health care, preventative treatment, and maybe deny them the sweet release we are all seeking,” said Rico T. Spoons, BLF Director of Offense as he idly drew a razorblade across his wrists. “This oppressive political climate and fascist approach towards health raises the comforting question of ‘how will you end it all?’ I like to think that we are just giving some poor folks a reminder that Philip Morris will always be there to help kill you.”
All former Marlboro Men, Wayne McLaren, David McLean and Dick Hammer, were unavailable for comment due to their rugged, manly choice of death by lung cancer.
The improvement can be viewed on Howard at Van Ness.
The Billboard Liberation Front (BLF) and the McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) have launched a new advertising improvement campaign. The initiative features a bold new slogan, “I’m Sick of It,” and is designed to counter the brand-negatives that have gnawed at MCD since the release of irresponsible attack-films like “Supersize Me” and “Food, Inc.” By embracing the traditional American values of conformity, convenience, and mediocrity, it is intended to reverse the damage done by the nay-saying health-Nazis and cow-hugging America-haters who have taken a bite out of MCD’s market share and hounded its beloved corporate mascot Ronald McDonald into exile.
“In an uncertain world, customers want comfort and sameness in their eating habits,” the spokesclown observed, speaking from the cramped office he shares with fellow expatriate Joe Camel. “It’s not just about portion size, though that’s still important. In these troubled times it’s more about familiarity, about conformity, and most of all about not taking any risks. MCD has responded to that shift in consumer attitudes, and has reengineered its product line to reflect a culinary landscape that prides itself on mediocrity.” Mr. Camel, speaking through a throat-tube, added: “McDonald’s is the cardiologist of America’s destiny.”
To accomplish this historic turnaround, McDonald’s turned to the re-branding experts at BLF, America’s premier Advertising Improvement Agency. “It’s time for McDonald’s to retake the cultural High Ground,” explained BLF Recreative Director ______ deCoverly. “They’ve been on the defensive for years, using generic ‘lifestyle’ ads that deny their core values. Now they’re fighting back, and reclaiming their cultural legacy.”
Unashamed to take a bold stance on America’s milquetoast taste, McDonald’s and the Billboard Liberation Front proudly unveil their new campaign: “I’m Sick of It.” The initial improvement can be seen at the corner of California and Hyde in San Francisco.
Jack Napier and Milton Rand Kalman of the Billboard Liberation Front will speak at the DeYoung Museum in as part of their Mission Muralismo series on May 7th.
Cultural Encounters: Friday Nights at the de Young presents “Mission Muralismo” in partnership with Precita Eyes Muralists
WHAT: Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo series presents “Directional Signals: Pranksters and Preachers, Paste and Stencil” featuring talks by Rigo, and John Jota Leaños. Also, Jack Napier, BLF co-founder, and Milton Rand, Kalman BLF chief scientist, will give a presentation titled “The Art and Science of Billboard Improvement,” plus stencil cutting demonstration by Russell Howze author of Stencil Nation: Graffiti, Community and Art.
WHEN: Friday, May 7, 6–8:45 pm
Live music in Wilsey Court: Marcus Shelby Quartet featuring vocalist Faye Carol performing the MLK project, 6:30-8:30 pm
WHERE: de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park
COST: Programs are free of charge
On Friday, May 7, the de Young Museum presents another dynamic program, luminous projections, and book signing in the ongoing series Mission Muralismo, in conjunction with the recently published book Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo, edited by Annice Jacoby for Precita Eyes Muralists, foreword by Carlos Santana (Abrams, 2009). The evening focuses on the talent and passionate work of major contributors to the book: Rigo, John Jota Leaños, Russell Howze, Jack Napier Billboard Liberation Front (BLF) co-founder, and Milton Rand Kalman BLF chief scientist
The lecture/demonstration program will take place in the lobby of the Koret Auditorium starting at 6:45 pm with Russell Howze demonstrating stencil cutting and the process of working a stencil from start to finish. Visitors will have an opportunity to see completed stencils and work at his stencil station until 7:15 pm. Projections of Howze’s work will be shown in the Koret Auditorium.
The de Young Museum hosts a year-long series celebrating the just-released Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo (Abrams, 2009), edited by Annice Jacoby, with a foreword by Carlos Santana, as part of the museum’s weekly program Cultural Encounters: Friday Nights at the de Young.
This series celebrates one of San Francisco’s greatest assets—the Mission District arts community, a rising star on the global art map. Both cutting-edge and traditional street artists will offer lectures and performances sharing their art, insights, musings, experiences, and perspectives.
These programs are offered FREE of charge in the free zone of the museum. For more information, visit www.missionmuralismo.com.
BLF conhorts Ehrich Weisz and Jack Napier will be on hand to sign books and ask questions!
The Billboard Liberation Front has teamed up the Wachovia Bank and the Treasury Department to bring you a new stimulus package for the long cold recession ahead, Money to Burn
