Secret Meeting in the Basement of My Brain

Started my evening at Gallery 5 for a showing of "Popaganda: The Art and Crimes of Ron English," about the artist who put his own perverse billboards up over commercial ones in order to subvert the message and get people thinking/talking. His reinterpretation of McDonald's and cigarette billboards (he single-handedly brought down Joe Camel and the campaign to attract kid smokers) were especially provocative and scathingly honest. The documentary included others who followed in his footsteps, like Shepard Fairey and the BLF (Billboard Liberation Front) as they worked with English and spread their messages, both political, anti-corporate and religious. The film was shot guerrilla-style, much the way they mounted billboards. It was a fascinating look at a man determined to share his alternate universe with the masses.

Ended my evening at the local bar chatting up the friendly yet cynical bartender and discovering that he knows way more about me than even my blog reveals. Perhaps I can do some damage control at Chiocca's later in the week. Or maybe he just wants to watch "Blue Velvet" with an older woman. All kinds of possibilities there for film discussion.