Project Update Nov 15

Violence of the commercial image: Private usurpation of public space and strategies to reclaim it


Project description

Public space is commonly defined as a place (or space) created and maintained by public authority, accessible to all citizens for their use and enjoyment. As areas shared by all citizens, public spaces are the primary source of local identity. Furthermore, “public space” is the space where individuals see and are seen by others as they engage in public affairs and is thus a precondition for “public freedom” (Hannah Arendt).

However, public spaces are increasingly being threatened by commercial intrusion and usurpation of the public interest. Examples include commercial events that restrict access to parks and squares, the design of retail kiosks and storefronts in and around public spaces that does not respect the local context (sending a signal that it no longer represents the local community), as well as the proliferation of outdoor advertising that destroys the character of natural and historic urban landscapes. When commercial interests gain too much influence over public space, the ultimate result is a destruction of the sense of shared ownership of that space (that it belongs to the people) and an erosion of civic identity.

Continuing the line of experimentation and expansion of my artistic practice that was sparked by my last project, in this project I will explore the issue of privatization of public space, or to be more precise the overpowering omnipresence of advertising (logos, ads, banners, billboards) in public places. This issue is of major importance and urgency in my country, especially in my home city, Skopje, in the context of its post-socialist transition into neo-liberal capitalism, where the public sphere is increasingly being usurped by private capital. Distinguishing between the public (political) interest and private (economic) interest, this project will expose various forms of unscrupulous abuse of the urban public space in Skopje for private purposes and the motives behind that, as well as propose ironic/playful actions to counteract it.

Project Documentation

My work on the art project so far has focused on initiating the process of obtaining the necessary licences and institutional support for the project, extensive research into the situation with billboards in Skopje in an attempt to determine their number, regulations governing their placement and possible complaints/problems, as well as detailed mapping out of billboards in the center of the city.

Given the fact that this will be a public art project, the bulk of which will take place in the city square and main streets, it will require the approval of the City authorities and the backing of a cultural institution. In terms of the latter, I hope I will be able to assure the institutional and financial support of the Skopje City Museum, where I have applied with a project - which was received quite enthusiastically - and am looking forward to a positive reply in January 2008. Just in case, I already have the support of yet another cultural institution, the Cultural Centre Tocka, but at this stage I would prefer to channel this project through the City Museum. As regards the former, I had an initial meeting with a member of the Mayor’s cabinet to inquire about the necessary licenses and requirements and possible support for the project from the City’s cultural programs.

Since my letter to the City administration inquiring about the laws/bylaws that regulate the placement of billboards in Skopje remains unanswered to this day, I had to turn to the media for information. The extensive search of billboard-related news stories published in major Macedonian dailies provided the following information:

• Billboard licences are awarded through a tender process. The last one apparently took place in 2003, with five-year licences awarded to two companies, Eurolinija and Akcent Media, for a total of 400 billboards.
• However, that number has obviously been surpassed. The City authorities estimate that at present in Skopje there are over 600 billboards.
• Most billboards are located on the main streets, primarily in the centre of the city.
• The proliferation of billboards can be attributed to - among other things - the low fee advertisers pay for their placement. The communal fee for putting a billboard is less than $40 a year - the price of a one-day black-and-white ad in a daily newspaper in Macedonia! On the other hand, the price of renting a billboard ranges from 250 to 1,000 EUR per month.
• Despite the low fee, many billboards have been put illegally. There are even claims in the media that as many as half of all billboards in the City have no license.
• The maximum allowed size of billboards is 12 square meters, but according to reports they are often bigger than 15 square meters. Bigger billboards require a construction permit from the Municipality, but most of them lack such a permit.
• Jumbo billboards on buildings should be placed at least 3.5 meters above the ground and 8 meters away from any crossroad. This regulation, however, is rarely followed (as this photo clearly demonstrates).
• The fact that the billboards in Skopje are far larger and much greater in number than the regulations allow creates a host of problems for citizens, ranging from decreased visibility on the main roads and intersection to physical injuries to unsuspecting passers-by.

Evidently, the problem with billboards in Skopje is so serious that the City authorities are considering banning huge billboards around the city square and reducing their number in the streets near in the center of the city, removing most of them to the periphery. However, there is no precise deadline as to when will that happen. I hope that this project will speed up that decision.

My next step was to personally identify the scope of the problem. I decided to focus on a city block in the centre of Skopje, as an indicator of the overall situation. I took photographs of all billboards within that particular block, noting down their (estimated) size and location. Attached are a few photographs:

The full set of some 50 photographs can be seen here.

I think it’s safe to say that the administration’s estimates are far too conservative when compared to the actual number. My identification showed a total of 81 billboards in just one city block. If this is any indication of the overall situation, then Skopje is definitely congested with outdoor advertising, to a point of semiotic saturation.

The following is a map of all billboards (jumbo, regular and empty ones) in this city block that I have noted down, superimposed over a satellite image of this particular part of Skopje:

Satellite image courtesy Google Maps

In the next stage, this documentation will serve as a foundation for the creation of a series of 10 large-scale digital prints exploring the urban landscape with and without billboards. At this point it remains to be seen whether they would be installed as billboards in the streets or not. Furthermore, the expected output would also include a performative/participatory element and video (at this point conceived as a 'news package' with vox pops to explore public opinion on this issue).