Visual Activism

Turning The Trevi Fountain Red

2007-10-23T02:28:00.001-07:00

'On October 19th, the waters of Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain turned blood red when a man threw paint into the basin in a bizarre act of vandalism apparently inspired by the Futurists of the early 20th century.

The man, reportedly wearing a beret and a light-colored jacket, struck at around 4.30 pm and then disappeared into the crowd of tourists, leaving behind a pile of leaflets. The fountain, which re-uses the same water in a continuous cycle, soon started spurting red water into the air from its jets, providing an unprecedented spectacle which tourists immediately began photographing. Police arrived and technicians briefly shut off the water before restoring a clear flow.

Experts said the baroque fountain was not permanently damaged and the marble statues depicting the sea deity Neptune on his chariot had not absorbed the color.

“There shouldn’t be any relevant damage,” said Eugenio La Rocca, superintendent for Rome’s monuments.

The news agency ANSA reported that a box was found near the fountain containing leaflets by a group that claimed responsibility for the act. The leaflets found beside the fountain claimed that the coloring of the monument had been carried out by ‘FTM Futurist Action 2007,’ a group which has not been heard of before.

The leaflets state that the group aims to battle against “everything and everyone with a spirit of healthy violence” and to turn this “grey bourgeois society into a triumph of color.” As well, the leaflets proclaim that the red paint was a protest for expenses incurred in organizing the Rome Film Festival and symbolically referred to the event’s red carpet."

via Wooster Collective via ANSA via Eternallycool

Canadian Red Cross. Learn first aid.

2007-09-20T02:45:00.000-07:00

“Canadian Red Cross. Learn first aid. www.redcross.ca”

Saturday, September 8, marks World First Aid Day across the globe and the launch of an innovative “street casualty” public service campaign designed to grab Canadians’ attention about the importance of knowing first aid and CPR.

“Know what to do. Learn First Aid” calls to action a need for first aid training among the general public in order to react with the right steps in crisis situations.

Agency: Downtown Partners, Toronto, Canada
Creative director: Dan Pawych
Copywriter: Andy Linardatos
Art Director: Hylton Mann
Photographer: Frank Hoedl
Producer: Anne Marie Martignago
Production house: Westside Studios, Toronto
Account Director: Sheng Sinn

Make some noise for Human Rights.

2007-09-20T02:30:00.000-07:00

“Make some noise for human rights. Amnesty International.
Concert Danube bank in front of the Parliament. 13.June@1PM”

Agency: DDB, Budapest, Hungary
Creative Director: Milos Ilic
Art Director: Lukasz Brzozowski
Copywriters: Milos Ilic, Lukasz Brzozowski
Photographer: Gabor Mate

via I Believe in Advertising

Durban Is Beautiful

2007-09-19T04:36:00.000-07:00

Just some conceptual scamps for a positive reinforcement graffiti campaign for urban upliftment in Durban, South Africa, that I've been mulling gover in my head.

Visual Activism

2007-09-07T07:19:00.000-07:00

l_d37c60a7cf3864ac2ea0e3e7091e7922, originally uploaded by Christopher de Beer.

This is a poster campaign I'm doing as part of my Btech (4th year/degree show) in Graphic Design, specializing in Visual Activism and the role of graphic design in the communication of Public Service Announcements and constructive social commentaries. via The Empire Collective

Sagmeister on Design and Happiness

2007-08-16T01:19:00.000-07:00

Sagmeister talks on the connections between happiness and design, ie: How design can make us/them happier. Also came across www.designcanchange.org a site encouraging designers to take a pledge of changing the current worlds situation through design.

Freedom of Speech in Belorussia

2007-07-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

Amnesty International's always has a variety street campaigns all over the world. This one, about freedom of speech in Belorussia, was done by Saatchi & Saatchi Poland. via Guerrilla Innovation.

Access Denied : Making a statement with sculpture

2007-07-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

"My sculptures look at access and disability in the built environment. My aim is simply to get people talking about disability, using symbolism not as a design element that dictates to us what to think but an object that provokes thought in context." Ben Bostock

Very cool, sculpture campaign, highlighting the fact that most public places don't adequately serve the needs of disabled persons. Spotted at Wooster Collective.

Save Yourself Posters

2007-07-25T00:59:00.001-07:00

Copy: "help yourself"
Very cool poster campaign by Leo Burnette (Sao Paulo), for CVV Suicide Prevention Center, Brasil. via The Empire Collective.

Face 2 Face Project

2007-07-25T00:49:00.000-07:00

The Face2Face project is a collaborative project with the authors aiming to create awareness and social comment about the issues between Israel and Palestine.
"The Face2Face project is to make portraits of Palestinians and Israelis doing the same job and to post them face to face, in huge formats, in unavoidable places, on the Israeli and the Palestinian sides. In a very sensitive context, we need to be clear. We are in favor of a solution for which two countries, Israel and Palestine would live peacefully within safe and internationally recognized borders. All the bilateral peace projects (Clinton/Taba, Ayalon/Nussibeh, Geneva Accords) are converging in the same direction. We can be optimistic. We hope that this project will contribute to a better understanding between Israelis and Palestinians." via Face2Face.com