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Advertising is Graffiti by urban_data

Abstractor is a brilliant piece of guerilla art created by Ji Lee. You can use it to change any television or video billboard from an advertising annoyance into art.

I like this style of anti-advertising graffiti because it creatively repurposes annoying video ads. I’m also a fan of the fact that it can do so without damaging anything.

Because of this, it doesn’t conjure the image of the ‘vandal’ type that we normally associate with graffiti. Instead, it has more of a ‘clever artist’ feel to it. Here’s how it works:

Anyone can easily create an Abstractor by attaching two black boards to any TV screen. These boards cover the screen entirely – except for a small horizontal gap between them – allowing a narrow beam of light to escape from the TV. All TV programs and commercials look beautiful through the Abstractor.

The video of the Abstractor in action really speaks for itself; funktastic afro for the win. Video billboards seem to be a lot more common in NYC than up here in the frozen north.

I poked around online a bit and the ‘horizontal line’ method shown in the video is the most popular one so far. Other people, like Graffiti Research Labs, have come up with their own variants. As pictured above, you can stencil any message into the black boards. It will still cover up the ads and make your message stand out.

Who wants to be the first to Abstractificate the screens at Robson & Granville?

Related:

• The Ad Generator
• Make Magazine article on the Abstractor