Public Space Invaders

Public space. The visual environment that urban dwellers share and exchange information with on a daily basis. It is the foundation of our environment, where we receive information about ourselves and others, the intersection of place and self, and it is dominated by advertisements and messages of consumer culture. A space that should be dedicated to who we are as a people, how to work together as communities, and understanding cultural differences is dominated by private enterprise always thinking of new ways to sell you something. Why is public art illegal but a corporation can put its mark anyway with complete disregard of a person's choice of what to see and not see. They are deciding my visual environment for me. This domination of space is affecting me more and more as I venture into the world of public art/graffiti and critical media education.

We have a local park, Jaqueira, that is a lovely retreat from the chaos of the city. There is a walking path, a bike path, numerous playgrounds for children, enormous trees, a place for different types of classes, a tiny church, and a BMX bike track with jumps. As of last week it is now "Nestle Park" with giant Nestle signs everywhere. There are different Nestle products painted at every 100 meter mark, all of the equipment was repainted Nestle blue and white, there are ice cream signs with misters along the paths,nestle stuff all over the children's play equipment, and two kiosks where you can buy Nestle products and drink Nescafe. Is the government incapable of maintaining this park so it turned it into a corporate-sponsored amusement park? Was it just easier to turn it over without asking people if they want to see advertising in one of the few "ad-free" zones? Is that the trend of public spaces?

Boston Gardens has changed its name numerous time to fit its latest sponsors name. We see shows at the Journal Pavillion in Albuquerque, the convention center in Recife is Chevrolet Hall. What about the integrity of the place? The history of what it is and where it is going? Where do we make meaning from our surroundings if the only meaning is created by branding?
I just keep thinking of what society could be. What if our public spaces really were public? What if the visual images surrounding us were not based on consumption but on a desire for creation? We have followed this model without questioning why and now it is so far gone we don't even notice. How did it get so out of control? How did it become so ingrained in our mental environment?

Adbusting and culture jammers remind us that these displays are not fixed and are not permanent. They are created just like everything else in our urban landscape. Our urban environment perpetuates the cycle of consumerism and unsustainable use--culture selling culture back to itself.

Graffiti long disparaged by the official rule makers of our society is an expression that is unwilling to accept what the urban landscape is supposed to look like. While I have definite beliefs about the difference between tagging and graffiti, it is all attempting to make your voice heard in a society that has silenced everyone but the corporation. When the corporation gained its right to be "a person" it became the great censure of all of its fellow "human beings." Mass communication is not communication at all. It is corporations giving information and people receiving. Communication implies an exchange of information between both parties. Where is the exchange? How did I become relished to being a receiver with no outlet for my voice to be heard? Who makes those decisions? Why are we so afraid of taking back that space? Why are we not insisting that we have some right to decide what we see?

I think that for every "bought" space that a company occupies it should provide the equal amount of space to the community. Imagine a city where the community decides what its public space should look like. It would be varied, strange, and possibly offensive, but it would be real expression and not constant messages of culture bought and sold. Or better yet, the company should leave that equal space for trees.