After our discussion of the debate surrounding Vancouver’s Neon signage in the 50s and 60s, I thought this clip from “Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” about Sao Paulo Brazil was an interesting contemporary example:
“Visual Pollution”?: A City with No Advertising
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I must admit that I find it somewhat interesting to see NO signs at all. It’s certainly a different look and it’s refreshing to not have the corporate signs in your face. However, for me, the city has always been a place of signs, of the hyperreality of language and symbols in all their form, so I would want to see something like that (but not corporate signs). Part of my Heideggerian experience of “dwelling” in the inner city is to be immersed in those signs. Those signs help me form roots in the places I have called home.
I liked the fact that we saw some large murals in the video you posted, Diana. That really rocks for me. Street art is taking up more and more space in the city. This is a 25-minute video all about the non-commercial signs of the city. Sorry it’s a bit long but if you have time to watch it, it’s well worth it. It’s a TED talk with the street artist JR who shows his art in cities all around the world. It’s really special:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jr_s_ted_prize_wish_use_art_to_turn_the_world_inside_out.html