Know Uganda

An audio podcast by Shelby Surdyk.

Graffiti Removal in New Orleans

An interesting piece of art as advocacy:

British Street artist Banksy, whom we have previously discussed, has recently been active in New Orleans. One recent piece seems to comment on the city's strict anti-graffiti policy:


This is certainly an interesting commentary on the practice of graffiti removal. But it gets more interesting. Someone, presumably a city worker, found the piece. This is what they did to it:

(Ignore the difference in brightness/contrast. The two shots are the work of different photographers.)

What is this? Simply a case of graffiti removal left unfinished? Is it subconscious art? Or is it a far more intentional modification?

Resources

• Here is the original Gawker gallery of Banksy in New Orleans.
• And here is the Gawker post regarding the modification. (The comments at the bottom of the post are worth skimming. While some are stupid, there is an interesting discussion about Cubism.)
  

Picasa Photo Uploader

Now available for the Mac!

http://picasa.google.com/intl/en_us/web/mac_tools.html

Bulent, Man of Rural Turkey — a video by Ance Zemzane & Forest Kvasnikoff

A short video piece by Ance Zemzane (Latvia) and Forest Kvasnikoff (Alaska) about the life of Bulent, a man struggling to survive in the economy of Bademli, a small village in rural Turkey.


Bulent — Man of Rural Turkey from Citizen Journalism Institute on Vimeo.

A Day in Bademli — A Movie by Chen Ying

A Day in Bademli, Turkey from Citizen Journalism Institute on Vimeo.

Worldwide Change — a PSA by Megan Waggoner

Worldwide Change — a PSA by Megan Waggoner from Citizen Journalism Institute on Vimeo.

Media Influences You — A Video by Aleksandrs Potaicuks

Media Influences You from Citizen Journalism Institute on Vimeo.