Thousands of times a day we are all subjected to a one way conversation with brash corporate ad campaigns that seek to define our perception of pop culture. The superstars, experts, sexy models, and minor TV personalities that populate their branded communications are all trying to shape our consciousness to increase their profits. Occasionally beguiling but usually annoying, they are often just too sure of themselves and a message needs to be sent. A bold, meaningful message, shared with viewers at the very moment that the ad intends to persuade us. Fortunately in New York City, advertising posters are often very accessible, and with the stroke of a pen (better yet a big fat sharpie) a ridiculous and telling dimension can be brought to the conversation by drawing a dorky penis on the butt of a movie star.
New York D!©k showcases hundreds of examples of the crude and rude audience participation found in the underground world of subway advertising. A visual cornucopia of pee pees, wee wees, shlongs, and dongs, NYD is the unashamed collected works of a fed-up crowd sending their own vibrant counter message to the powerhouses of popular communication. It’s New York attitude meets New York advertising savvy, with funny and anatomically unnatural results.
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Galen Smith is a graphic designer / art director, and a dedicated documenter of advertising poster defacements. Over the last four years he has gathered thousands of examples of lewd doodles and obnoxious comments added to posters in the New York City subway system. He lives in Brooklyn New York.