The anti-Christo

Austrian artists Christoph Steinbrener & Rainer Dempf have created an installation called Delete! which is de-littering the public space. For two weeks this summer Vienna's 7th district will be blissfully ad-free. All advertising signs, slogans, pictograms, company names and logos will disappear behind a yellow mask. The interest of businesses and shopowners, who by their participation become actors in the art project, has been surprisingly strong. Delete! will turn Neubaugasse in Vienna into a force field of social and cultural exchange.

Quite a step away from the recent chatter about the beach billboards that imprint ads all over a beaches sand. The only advantage this has is that the "printers" can also clean the beach. Ironically, the first beach billboard messages imprinted in New Jersey two years ago reminded peope to take care of their own litter. Hat tip to peacay!

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Plywood's picture

Some photographer did a bunch of shots like this years ago (Canadian guy, maybe?) - shots of downtown with all the logos and advertising blacked out.
This is kinda cooler though, seeing it in real life...

Dabitch's picture

hmm.. Dunno what photographer you mean, but that suddenly reminded me of this guy who photographs ad-signs hovering in the air - by photoshopping away the poles the hold them up. Looks kinda like UFO's attacking then. Also, he did a project called the untitled project where "the photographs have been digitally stripped of all traces of textual information"

Also somewhat related; Los Logos

Loslogos.org, wants to protect, or at least conserve the graphic appearance of the world
lobstar's picture

This is written as if Delete! will be happening in the future. Actually, it ended more than a week ago.

Dabitch's picture

Hmm. "have created" is past tense. But I see your point. Didn't mean to sound so cryptic, yes this installation of Delete! was between the 6th and 20th of June 2005.

lobstar's picture

"Have created" doesn't imply past tense in terms of art exhibitions

Dabitch's picture

No worries I didn't think you sounded bitchy, you're right like I said it was rather cryptic. Could've written that a lot better, was in a hurry. ;)

Now, I do hope that their idea travels and that they get to do this to other cities, like Times Square in New York, somewhere in Hong Kong and so on. I'd love to invite them to Stockholm, last time I visited there I was suprised at how many ads and ad-signs are now covering the center of town, and how BIG some of them are, things have changed a lot up there.