Stereograph by Catarina Morais

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STEREO

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Political art

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Culture Jamming

Activism

Urban typos

Popular Lujo

Mapping your reality

Public Interventions

Hac

Craftivism

ktivi

Artivism

00 01 · In relation to the above, we would look at teams such as Adbusters, Worldchanging, Bureau d’études, moveon, etc., some of which would be the subject of detailed analysis. We would compare present-day groups, which primarily operate on the Internet as a platform, with more traditional formations such as NGOs or historic movements of revolt, and on this basis explore the duality between the activism of diffusion and the activism of action. ·Urban dissidence, culture jamming: Rotor, Billboard Liberation Front, Martin Bricelj, Joystick…

· In the field of music, rap and hip-hop provide a very powerful example of radical social protest. With their lyrics, groups like Public Enemy react against the system in the same way as graphic designers do with their visual language. Another interesting phenomenon here is the free distribution of music and texts, a concept that is being developed by Platoniq and others. Look inside Copyleft. The issue will necessarily have a significant amount of texts and articles that will both structure and provide a counterpoint to the more visual part. The texts will serve to contextualize the different sections.

INTRO STEREOGRAPH Stereograph is conceived as a magazine about graphic design and visual communication with a thematic approach to information rather than a merely cumulative treatment; in other words, the intention is for each issue to be devoted to a specific theme, which will be developed in a range of materials and formats: graphic projects, articles, essays and so on. The idea is to translate the concept we pioneered with Verb, our architecture magazine, to the world of graphics. This model of book-magazine has worked very well in the field of architecture, both as a tool with which we can research and experiment, and in terms of the commercial success it has achieved.

STEREOGRAPH # 1. REACT We want to launch the series with an issue devoted to reactive graphics: in other words, those graphic works that express a reaction to a situation of injustice or defend a particular culture against the domination of more global languages. Quite simply, it is a question of celebrating the critical or dissident potential of graphic designers and visual communicators, the effectiveness of their tools and the intrinsic value of their independent proposals, with an evident capacity to innovate and stimulate reflection. We believe there is a better alternative to the passive dérive of an environment so absorbing and asphyxiating that it obliges us to rebel against it, in the form of a reaction to the imposition of a uniform homogeneity on our distinctive local models and references, resulting in the disappearance of situations and actions unique to autochthonous cultures: scenarios peopled by Frankenstein-like hybrids fashioned from the merging of vernacular references and other, more ‘globalized’ models. We also find scenarios in which to rebel against social injustice, whose origins are in most cases political: wars, dictatorships, oppressive regimes... Of course, this is not a new phenomenon; such critiques have always found expression, from the old broadsheets and pamphlets to the present-day weblogs, but there is no denying that the latest high-tech tools have given a new dimension to such movements, far more global, with a much stronger media presence. Another, related aspect that we will be looking at in this first issue is the importance of the Internet as a medium of diffusion, and of the information technologies —tools and programmes, graphic environments and the rest— at the disposal of today’s graphic designers. All of these things have provided the basis for a huge variety of responses, from groups asserting that another world is possible and anti-global movements that oppose the present the system to works by individual designers

and visual communicators who, moved by an awareness of injustices or as a tool of protest, voice their critiques in independent, personal creations that in many cases are not commissioned by a client. happening in the world. Certain designers would be the subject of in-depth studies, while other would be given a more cursory treatment. Possible participants: Doma, Masa, Stefan Sagmeister, Jonathan Barnbrook, Kenneth Tin Kin Hung, Nuevos Ricos… · In relation to the above, we would look at teams such as Adbusters, Worldchanging, Bureau d’études, moveon, etc., some of which would be the subject of detailed analysis. We would compare present-day groups, which primarily operate on the Internet as a platform, with more traditional formations such as NGOs or historic movements of revolt, and on this basis explore the duality between the activism of diffusion and the activism of action. ·Urban dissidence, culture jamming: Rotor, Billboard Liberation Front, Martin Bricelj, Joystick… · In the field of music, rap and hip-hop provide a very powerful example of radical social protest. With their lyrics, groups like Public Enemy react against the system in the same way as graphic designers do with their visual language. Another interesting phenomenon here is the free distribution of music and texts, a concept that is being developed by Platoniq and others. Look inside Copyleft. The issue will necessarily have a significant amount of texts and articles that will both structure and provide a counterpoint to the more visual part. The texts will serve to contextualize the different sections.

02 03 “I wanted to make an art piece of Barack Obama because I thought an iconic portrait of him could symbolize and amplify the importance of his mission. I believe Obama will guide this country to a future where everyone can thrive and I should support him vigorously for the sake of my two young daughters. I have made art opposing the Iraq war for several years, and making art of Obama, who opposed the war from the start, is like making art for peace. I know I have an audience of young art fans and I’m delighted if I can encourage them to see the merits of Barack Obama.” -Shepard Fairey

POLITICAL ART GORILLA Since October 2006 we have made a visual column on the front page of De Volkskrant, one of Holland’s leading newspapers. With Lesley Moore and Herman van Bostelen we form the collective ‘Gorilla’. We respond to the day’s news in words and images. This gives us a wonderful opportunity to ventilate our views on politics, the environment and all those subjects ones worries about, but doesn’t know how to react.

SHEPARD FAIREY ON OBAMA “I wanted to make an art piece of Barack Obama because I thought an iconic portrait of him could symbolize and amplify the importance of his mission. I believe Obama will guide this country to a future where everyone can thrive and I should support him vigorously for the sake of my two young daughters. I have made art opposing the Iraq war for several years, and making art of Obama, who opposed the war from the start, is like making art for peace. I know I have an audience of young art fans and I’m delighted if I can encourage them to see the merits of Barack Obama.” -Shepard Fairey

STUDENTS FOR A FREE TIBET Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) works in solidarity with the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom and independence. We are a chapter-based network of young people and activists around the world. Through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action, we campaign for Tibetans’ fundamental right to political freedom. Our role is to empower and train youth as leaders in the worldwide movement for social justice.

In our work for Tibetan independence we also aim to inspire and enable people, especially youth, to create a just and equitable world, free of oppression, in which there is respect for the earth and all living things. We believe every individual has the right to be free. Those who enjoy freedom have the power and also the responsibility to make positive change in the world. We seek to create opportunities to inspire, enable and motivate all people to see that change is possible. We value creativity in every pursuit and we believe it is essential to have fun while working towards our vision of a just and equitable world.

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Richard van der Laken

gorilla-thumbs up for mugabe Election day in Zimbabwe/ 27.06.08 Thugs can tell from ink on the thumb whether or not people have voted in the Zimbabwe election.

gorilla-mugabe Mugabe hits opposition with violence/ 25.06.08 According to the international community, Mugabe is no longer the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe. He is using brute force and intimidation to wrest an election victory.

gorilla-hillary level Hillary’s Clinton’s cashbox is empty/ 08.05.08 After Hillary Clinton’s call for a petrol tax holiday it is clear that the cashbox is empty, the mood desperate.

gorilla-free tibet Free Trade Free Tibet/ 12.04.08 Dutch provincial and municipal administrators travel en masse to China.

gorilla-eu ierland Ireland says ‘no’ to E.U. treaty/ 16.06.08 makes it clear that the EU is only as strong as its weakest link.

gorilla-dieselprijs Protest against the high price of diesel/ 12.06.08 Protests all over Europe against the high price of diesel

gorilla- bejing Olympic Peace/ 08.04.08 IOC wants ‘peaceful solution’ in Tibet.

gorilla-birma junta Birma Junta/ 27.05.08 Aid organisations barred from Burma

gorilla-clusterbom The Netherlands is removing the clusterbomb from it’s arsenal/ 29.05.08 According to a new international treaty, one that has not been signed by the US, the Netherlands is also removing the cluster bomb from its arsenal.

gorilla-we are the world Bush/Putin era is almost over/ 05.04.08 Meeting between two departing world leaders.

Please be polite but firm when you call. You may want to touch on the following points: * Allowing the torch run through Tibet will likely lead to further bloodshed and suffering. * Coca-Cola is a signatory to the U.N. Global Compact, promising to “support and respect the protection of international human rights.” * Tibetans inside Tibet are reporting increased repression by Chinese authorities in order to secure a successful, protest-free torch relay. By doing nothing in the face of this preventable tragedy, CocaCola’s executives becomes complicit in China’s ongoing human rights abuses against the Tibetan people *The Chinese government has promised that Tibetans will be “treated harshly and with no leniency” for protesting during the torch relay. * Coca-Cola’s complete disregard for the ramifications of the torch going to Tibet is unacceptable. * Board Chair Herb Allen and Board Member Cathleen Black have thus far refused to meet with Tibetans and Tibet supporters

THE COCA COLA

CALL IN

12 13 Advertising suffuses all corners of our waking lives; it so permeates our consciousness that even our dreams are often indistinguishable from a rapid succession of TV commercials.

* Different forms of media serve the Ad as primary conduits to the people. Entirely new media have been invented solely to streamline the process of bringing the Ad to the people. * Old fashioned notions about art, science and spirituality being the peak achievements and the noblest goals of the spirit of man have been dashed on the crystalline shores of Acquisition; the holy pursuit of consumer goods. All old forms and philosophies have been cleverly co-opted and reâ&#x20AC;?spunâ&#x20AC;? as marketing strategies and consumer campaigns by the new shamans, the Ad men. * Spiritualism, literature and the

CULTURE JAMMING PETER FUSS by James David (Groundswell Talks) Peter Fuss reclaims billboards to examine and evaluate present, socially taboo subjects. He’s been a fugitive, a critic, and many other things. Chiefly a painter these days, his work comments on politics, the relationships between religion and authority, flashy religiosity, social problems, and art. Peter was generous enough to lend us a few minutes for an interview, after putting in some hard work on his latest project - a re-imagination of the Catholic Stations of the Cross, which forces one to think twice about perceptions of criminality.

Peter Fuss: I did many different things, many of them not even worth mentioning. Now I mainly paint. I am most known for works in acrylic paint on paper which I then illegally place in urban landscape. To do that, I use billboards which are plentiful on the streets.

PF: Both design and content are important in art works. To make a piece interesting, both of these must maintain equilibrium and fit well with each other. When one of them starts dominating, the piece becomes boring. I favor work of artists who are able to balance both form and content. To me, it is not only important how an artist speaks, but most of all what he/she is actually saying. I am not excited by abstract works or excessively vivid graffiti with no message. Therefore, the starting point for my work is definitely a message, idea.

PF: I set my work in the streets because this helps me show my work to people I would never be able to reach through an art gallery. Besides, street art gives me unlimited freedom. I work when I feel like and do what I want. I don’t have to agree anything with any art gallery manager. I don’t have to keep deadlines, get my ideas assessed or consult my projects. These are the main advantages of working in urban environment. Of course, I also exhibit in galleries if I am invited. The precondition though is that no one will interfere with my vision. (...)

THE BLF MANIFESTO In the beginning was the Ad.The Ad was brought to the consumer by the Advertiser. Desire, self worth, self image, ambition, hope; all find their genesis in the Ad. Through the Ad and the intent of the Advertiser we form our ideas and learn the myths that make us into what we are as a people. That this method of self definition displaced the earlier methods is beyond debate. It is now clear that the Ad holds the most esteemed position in our cosmology.

MUD STENCIL I began using mud as my stencil medium to solve the problem of how to create a stencil without using spray paint. Spray paint is very toxic and can cause brain damage if frequently ingested. It is also difficult to remove from buildings. I have no interest in creating art that damages property or is unwanted. If someone does not like my stencils they can easily wash them off. I also ask businesses owners before I put a stencil on their property. By receiving property owners consent a street artist can created work that is wanted, and stays up longer.

PF: Freedom to travel and taking part in events in various countries is nothing extraordinary in today’s world. I’ve lived in different places and all experiences I had surely influenced me, to a varied degree of course. But it is not a question of place where I live or interacting with different people and cultures that is decisive of the subject matter of my work – it is rather the times we live in that determines my perception of this world. The fact that Americans elected Bush has a direct impact on the life of people outside the U.S. Polish soldiers die on a war started by Bush in Iraq. Thanks to the media and the Internet, photographs of Hillary Clinton crying during the primaries are seen immediately in Poland and in Texas. The fact that Hirst exhibited his diamond skull in White Cube in London was known on the same day in Los Angeles, Kiev and Sydney.

PF: I don’t create series just because I feel like it. The subject matter determines it. So sometimes it takes a series and sometimes one piece is sufficient.

PF: It is not the fixation, it is a reaction to the reality around me. I live in Poland, Pope John Paul II was a Pole and even when he was alive the scale of his worship was really grotesque, and after his death it only intensified. Right now there are about 500 monuments of the Pope in this country. You can see the Pope’s images on mugs, ballpoints, or lighters. The cult of the Pope is a very particular mixture of hillbilly, superficial faith with a large dose of kitsch and bad taste. The Pope is worshipped and loved by masses. But to them, he is more of an idol, a superstar than a spiritual leader, as paradoxically they know very little of his teachings or Papal encyclicals. The cult of the Pope is a very particular mixture of hillbilly, superficial faith with a large dose of kitsch and bad taste. People prefer to have pictures showing the Pope than Jesus Christ. They are also much more sensitive over the Pope than Christ. In Poland, it would be more acceptable to caricature or make a joke on Christ rather than the Pope. The police intervened several times during my exhibition on the Pope after they were called by people that felt offended by it.

PF: As a young boy I lived in a country that was not independent. You couldn’t travel abroad, I even remember the period when it was not possible to travel freely between cities – to do that, you needed a special permit, which was checked by the military and the police. The state-controlled television had only two channels, the press was censored and before playing a concert, every band had to have their lyrics approved by institutions which made sure that no dissent was voiced. It was not a free country. You could go to jail for criticizing those in power. You would see “graffiti” saying people wanted freedom, that those in power cheated, that TV lied. The form was unimportant – it was the message that mattered. Those people expressed their need of freedom, they fought the system by writing politically involved slogans. It was their way to manifest their views and express their dissent against the regime. And they really risked prison. You would see “graffiti” saying people wanted freedom, that those in power cheated, that TV lied. The form was unimportant – it was the message that mattered. Those were my first contacts with graffiti activism. It taught me to be uncompromising and believe in the sense of manifesting myself, my beliefs and ideas. It taught me that it’s important to be true to one’s beliefs and express one’s individuality and independence, even if that might cause serious repercussions to me. Therefore, when Harring painted in the subway and Basquiat fulfilled his creativity on Brooklyn walls, I had contact with completely different type of graffiti activism

PF: My latest project is a series of 14 billboards showing the Stations of the Cross. In the Catholic tradition (more than 90% of Polish population declare being Catholics) there is this tradition of acting out the Stations of the Cross before Easter. I posted my billboards on the Good Friday at the city train stations so people going to work would see different Stations of the Cross posted on successive train stops. But it wasn’t my goal to make people more spiritual or to promote Christianity among people. Christ was portrayed in the same way as criminals and suspects are shown in media coverage: surname abbreviated (”Jesus Ch.”) and face shown in a way so as to make it impossible to identify the person. On one hand this reflected how the media trivialize stories of individuals, but most of all I wanted to point to the fact which many people seem to forget – that Christ was a revolutionary who challenged the existing law and order. Nowadays, people who break the rules and challenge the law and order imposed by the system are being sentenced and imprisoned, notwithstanding the fact that Christ, who also broke the rules, is worshipped.

* Advertising suffuses all corners of our waking lives; it so permeates our consciousness that even our dreams are often indistinguishable from a rapid succession of TV commercials. * Different forms of media serve the Ad as primary conduits to the people. Entirely new media have been invented solely to streamline the process of bringing the Ad to the people. * Old fashioned notions about art, science and spirituality being the peak achievements and the noblest goals of the spirit of man have been dashed on the crystalline shores of Acquisition; the holy pursuit of consumer goods. All old forms and philosophies have been cleverly co-opted and re”spun” as marketing strategies and consumer campaigns by the new shamans, the Ad men. * Spiritualism, literature and the physical arts: painting, sculpture, music and dance are by and large produced, packaged and consumed in the same fashion as a new car. Product contents, dictated by trends in hipness, contain a half-life matching the producers calender for being supplanted by newer models. * Product placement in television and film have overtaken story line, character development and other dated strategies in importance in the agendas of the filmmakers. The directors commanding the biggest budgets have more often than not cut their teeth on TV Ads & music videos. * Artists are judged and rewarded on the basis of their relative standing in the ongoing commodification of art objects. Bowing to fashion and the vagaries of gallery culture, these creators attempt to manufacture collectible baubles and contemporary or “period” objects that will successfully penetrate the collectors market. The most successful artists are those who can most successfully sell their art. With increasing frequency they apprentice to the Advertisers; no longer needing to falsely maintain the distinction between “Fine” & “Commercial” art.

* And so we see, the Ad defines our world, creating both the focus on “image” and the culture of consumption that ultimately attract and inspire all individuals desirous of communicating to their fellow man in a profound fashion. It is clear that He who controls the Ad speaks with the voice of our Age. * You can switch off/smash/shoot/ hack or in other ways avoid Television, Computers and Radio. You are not compelled to buy magazines or subscribe to newspapers. You can sic your rotweiler on door to door salesman. Of all the types of media used to disseminate the Ad there is only one which is entirely inescapable to all but the bedridden shut-in or the Thoreauian misanthrope. We speak, of course of the Billboard. Along with its lesser cousins, advertising posters and “bullet” outdoor graphics, the Billboard is ubiquitous and inescapable to anyone who moves through our world. Everyone knows the Billboard; the Billboard is in everyones mind. * For these reasons the Billboard Liberation Front states emphatically and for all time herein that to Advertise is to Exist. To Exist is to Advertise. Our ultimate goal is nothing short of a personal and singular Billboard for each citizen. Until that glorious day for global communications when every man, woman and child can scream at or sing to the world in 100Pt. type from their very own rooftop; until that day we will continue to do all in our power to encourage the masses to use any means possible to commandeer the existing media and to alter it to their own design. * Each time you change the Advertising message in your own mind, whether you climb up onto the board and physically change the original copy and graphics or not, each time you improve the message, you enter in to the High Priesthood of Advertisers. Jack Napier John Thomas

Free Statement: Free can mean a lot of things. Hopefully this stencil means something to you. To me this piece is about how great it is to ride a bike. For myself commutating via bicycle means I am free from oil and free from the confidents of an auto. Sadly while biking in a city I am not free from rude motorists, and the exhaust autos spew. Beat Statement: To me, Industrial farming means agriculture on a large scale that typically includes the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, genetically modified foods, erosion, soil degradation, and a general apathy to food quality, environments, and health. Industrial farming is happening worldwide, it is limiting crop variety, traditional farming methods, and the health of animals and environments. This mud stencil is a call to action. Beat back industrial farming by supporting small sustainable farms. Oil Statement: Why do people drink bottled water when perfectly potable, perfectly healthy tap water is readily available? In places without clean drinking water, bottled water makes perfect scene; everywhere else, it does not. It takes massive amounts of oil to make the plastic and packaging for bottled water, and even more oil to transport them. More oil is used to recycle the plastic, unless the used bottles are filling up landfills instead. Reusing the bottles is also a bad idea because they may leach carcinogens. Stainless steel, aluminum or glass water bottles work great. It is my firm belief that plastic is bad. Lets avoid it when we can. Grow Statement: The meaning of this piece is dependent on its location. I have posted it on both abandoned buildings and places I enjoy or find inspiring. Photographed with a child next to it makes a statement about the child’s potential and the kind of person they will grow to become. Photographed on a building with flowers around it makes a statement about growing a garden. Share Statement: This stencil was actually commissioned by UW Milwaukee’s union. I slightly modified the “Share The Earth” logo to make it a stencil. Then posted it in mid April to advertise for earth week-a week of events at UWM to celebrate earth day.

22 23 The Graffiti Taxonomy studies started in 2004 as part of my masters thesis program. I remember feeling surprised at the time that even in a school full of designers and typographers the dislike of graffiti was adamant and almost universal. My goal with the project was to re-present graffiti in such a way that others would be able to see the beauty and intent behind the characters that I saw when I walked around the city, and to highlight the diversity of styles that could be found in a single character. Because people often donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand the letter forms or the intent behind the act, they tend to be fearful of graffiti. By framing graffiti in the language of analysis I aimed to offer people a method for understanding and a way to appreciate these forms that they pass by hundreds of times per day.

URBAN TYPOS EVAN ROTH The Graffiti Taxonomy studies started in 2004 as part of my masters thesis program. I remember feeling surprised at the time that even in a school full of designers and typographers the dislike of graffiti was adamant and almost universal. My goal with the project was to re-present graffiti in such a way that others would be able to see the beauty and intent behind the characters that I saw when I walked around the city, and to highlight the diversity of styles that could be found in a single character. Because people often don’t understand the letter forms or the intent behind the act, they tend to be fearful of graffiti. By framing graffiti in the language of analysis I aimed to offer people a method for understanding and a way to appreciate these forms that they pass by hundreds of times per day. The original idea came from Edward Tufte’s notion of small multiples in which multiple images are shown all at once in an effort to highlight their differences. I was treating graffiti as a data set and photographing thousands of tags in different neighborhoods around New York City.The ‘S’ studies were of graffiti tags sampled from The Lower East Side and the ‘A’ study was sampled from tags in Harlem. Once the photos had been taken, trimmed, and sized, the resulting images were put back up into the neighborhoods in which the original tags were photographed. In the end Graffiti Taxonomy was my attempt at showing people just how much beauty and intent is contained within these cryptic puddles of ink found all over the city. PIXACAO Pichação is an act of transgression, a way of getting people´s attention by the fact that it normally uses non-conventional and non-authorized surfaces. It has no rules concerning form or content, although it may occur sometimes when a specific mark can be seen spread out the city as a stamp. The drawings and illustrations tend to be very simple, used almost as symbols. The messages do not get colorful, they are monochromed most of the times and

the surfaces chosen are never authorized. On the contrary, they are always taken by surprise. Unlike graffiti, which has a clear preference for rough surfaces, pichação uses already used surfaces or places taken by another pichação. As a result, pichação makes use of the most varied surfaces as possible which include tops of buildings, monuments, museums and public spaces with cultural or hystoric values. Avoiding any kind of apology for pichação, it is important to see this phenomenon in a very impartial way. Despite being an illegal activity, it is an independent movement that leads everyone to a higher level of consciousness and criticism for the writer himself gives a city a new face by proposing a new meaning for it.

A digital font is a set of characters that can vary in size and style. It started to be used in the seventies and eighties after the introduction of computers and has been used to type texts in software programs since then. It was just in these decades that pichação has started here in Brazil. Curiously, there is a certain coincidence between these two dates. Nowadays, Brazilian pichação is worldwide recognized as a legitimate and singular phenomenon. Brazilian typefaces have some unique features that distinguish from others and their greatest representative, best known as straight tag, had its origin in São Paulo. Though a digital font is designed one by one, it must keep the whole stylistic unity to be considered a font family. To be done in a professional way this font has necessarily to be designed in a proper software so that it can be transformed into a digital file. Taking this in consideration, Brazilian designers have changed their view towards the phenomenon of pichação and started to create digital fonts based on this type style. There are 3 Brazilian digital fonts been commercialized at present. Three of them have been distributed by international font dealers. Click here for more details on digital fonts.

Emerging in the 1980s in São Paulo, pixação quickly became one of the most aggressive and controversial forms of expression to date, turning its artists, the pixadores, into one of the most marginalized social groups in the city. Constantly in search of adrenaline, social resistance and recognition, the pixadores enter the city center from the outskirts in order to assert their existence through bold nocturnal actions – nightly escapes from the social exclusion that weighs on their daily lives. Seeing as pixação declares itself as a visual challenge against elite aesthetics and also stands as a clear reflection of the city’s conflicted social context, the main objective of this photo essay is to question the social structures that drive a generation of youth to feel that their only creative outlet lies in the degradation of the urban landscape.

32 33 Uno de los ingredientes urbanos que más se ha transformado con la globalización, con la apertura de los mercados y con las nuevas tecnologías, es la comunicación visual callejera. Técnicas, estilos y motivos locales han ido desapareciendo en favor de técnicas, estilos y motivos transnacionales. No es un hecho insignificante: hoy en día el conjunto de vallas, letreros y anuncios cubren de tal modo el paisaje urbano, que se han convertido en un rasgo definitorio del aspecto de la ciudades; aún más de aquellas que no tienen otros grandes rasgos icónicos para ofrecer como un emplazamiento geográfico singular o un patrimonio arquitectónico único y espectacular. Letras e imágenes son el nuevo paisaje. Y se trata de un paisaje que aunque vigoroso, ha empezado a volverse monótono e insulso. No hablamos tanto de los motivos y de los mensajes, que intentan ser siempre diversos y novedosos, como de una especie de convenciones técnicas, estéticas y semánticas que hace que todo lo que vemos y leemos en las calles tenga un aburridor tono “global”.

POPULAR DE LUJO AGUJEROS EN EL PAPEL TAPIZ Populardelujo, Cooperativa Las ciudades se parecen cada vez más entre sí. Se han venido estandarizando los trazados urbanos, las formas de comercio y las rutinas de sus habitantes. Las diferencias que solían distinguir a una ciudad de otra son cada vez más sutiles: hoy hay que mirar muy de cerca, evitar deliberadamente malles, autopistas y McDonald’s para tener una experiencia de ciudad realmente peculiar. Uno de los ingredientes urbanos que más se ha transformado con la globalización, con la apertura de los mercados y con las nuevas tecnologías, es la comunicación visual callejera. Técnicas, estilos y motivos locales han ido desapareciendo en favor de técnicas, estilos y motivos transnacionales. No es un hecho insignificante: hoy en día el conjunto de vallas, letreros y anuncios cubren de tal modo el paisaje urbano, que se han convertido en un rasgo definitorio del aspecto de la ciudades; aún más de aquellas que no tienen otros grandes rasgos icónicos para ofrecer como un emplazamiento geográfico singular o un patrimonio arquitectónico único y espectacular. Letras e imágenes son el nuevo paisaje. Y se trata de un paisaje que aunque vigoroso, ha empezado a volverse monótono e insulso. No hablamos tanto de los motivos y de los mensajes, que intentan ser siempre diversos y novedosos, como de una especie de convenciones técnicas, estéticas y semánticas que hace que todo lo que vemos y leemos en las calles tenga un aburridor tono “global”. Afortunadamente, ese papel tapiz, tan regular y prolijo, esta lleno de agujeros. Se trata de formas de comunicación gráfica resistentes a toda esta tendencia homogenizadora. La llamamos gráfica popular y es, por lo menos en Bogotá (Colombia), el lugar en donde hoy en día es posible encontrar con mayor frecuencia y abundancia referencias a lo local o al menos –si convenimos que toda cultura es mestiza y no existe en realidad algo como “lo local”– referencias a etapas menos avanzadas y anodinas de la hibridación cultural. No es que la gráfica popular se halle incontaminada. Este tipo de comunicación gráfica también cae recurrentemente en la tentación de, por ejemplo, apelar a lo extranjero en aras de “sofisticar” un producto, o de echar mano a recursos gráficos y gramaticales propios de la publicidad global. Pero quizá por ser una forma de comunicación propia de los sectores menos prósperos de la sociedad –quienes están menos expuestos a bienes y mensajes transnacionales y tienen mayores limitaciones para acceder e instruirse en tecnologías de producción avanzadas– el resultado es una manifestación estética que, incluso cuando copia, se desmarca claramente de lo que circula en los grandes medios. Una vertiente de la comunicación gráfica dueña de una gran originalidad, muy vistosa y muy elocuente respecto al imaginario local y a nuestras costumbres y formas de ser. Naturalmente, la gráfica popular no destaca lo local de manera deliberada (si hay una características más o menos común a toda la gráfica popular bogotana es la ignorancia sobre su propio valor), pero lo hace. Y podríamos decir que lo hace de dos maneras: directamente, a través de los motivos; e indirectamente, mediante la técnica. La eterna crisis de identidad latinoamericana y la necesidad de alinearse con la cultura global para inscribirse en los circuitos económicos ha hecho que la comunicación visual que se produce en las agencias de publicidad colombianas prefiera, en general, mirar hacia fuera que hacia dentro. La consigna parece ser: entre más se parezca nuestra publicidad a la norteamericana, mejor. En contraprestación, el diseño gráfico popular parece avergonzarse menos de lo local. Es más factible encontrar alusiones directas a íconos geográficos nacionales, a costumbres regionales (platos, danzas, cultos) o a héroes populares (próceres, deportistas, músicos) en los vehículos de transporte masivo y en los modestos negocios de los barrios populares que en los malls, las revistas o los canales de televisión.

En cuanto a la técnica, por estar como ya se ha dicho confinada a los sectores más pobres de la sociedad, la gráfica popular es principalmente artesanal. Mucha de esta gráfica esta por fuera de la reproducción seriada y consiste en piezas únicas (Ej. murales y avisos hechos a mano), otra utiliza medios low-tech de producción en serie (Ej. fotocopias, imprentas manuales, plantillas, fotoagüita) y otra utiliza nuevas tecnologías de manera precaria o imperfecta (Ej. plotters de corte, fotomontajes). La colección de imágenes que acompañan este texto son excelentes ejemplos de piezas gráficas encontradas en la calle que, a diferencia de otras piezas con las que comparten territorio, tienen la capacidad de decirnos algo sobre la idiosincrasia de Bogotá y de sus alrededores a la vez que promocionan un producto o un servicio o sirven de decoración a un establecimiento comercial. Demuestran que la gráfica popular no será la antítesis de la globalización, pero que, en la medida en que elige motivos locales y utiliza técnicas alternativas, su modesta lucha representa efectivamente, una forma de resistencia. A veces las cosas se encuentran en donde menos se les espera y quizás la gráfica popular, ignorada por el grueso de los profesionales y académicos de la imagen y tratada a veces como “basura” por parte de los ciudadanos común y corrientes, sea precisamente una fuente de patrimonio cultural de cuyo valor no nos hemos percatado. Difícilmente existe otra expresión estética capaz de hablar, en un mundo lleno de estándares y de mensajes calculados, con tanta franqueza sobre las costumbres, el carácter y las aspiraciones de una sociedad.