Made from a mixture of clay, compost, and seeds, « seedbombs»  are becoming an increasingly popular means combating the many forgotten grey spaces we encounter everyday-from sidewalk cracks to vacant lots and parking medians. They can be thrown anonymously into these derelict urban sites to temporarily reclaim and transform them into places worth looking at and caring for. The Greenaid dispensary simply makes these guerilla gardening efforts more accessible to all by appropriating the existing distribution system of the quarter operated candy machine.

60 de ces distributeurs devraient être mis en place dans les mois à venir.

Common Studio explains: “Greenaid is equally an interactive public awareness campaign, a lucrative fundraising tool, and a beacon for small scale grass roots action that engages directly yet casually with local residents to both reveal and remedy issues of spatial inequity in their community.”

Des actions de Guerilla gardening sont organisées dans le monde entier, comme à Lausanne le 9 mai prochain : Guérilla Tournesol Lausanne

Une action de Greenaid, thanks to rebelart

The Urban Repair Squad est un collectif de cyclistes de Toronto. Ils « habitent»  la ville avec leurs interventions mettant en évidence, de manière comique et bédéesque les dangers de la route ou « améliorent»  à leur façon la signalétique urbaine.

Ici, se sont des onomatopée de films ou BD de super héros qui fleurissent sur le bitume là où il est endommagé et présente un danger pour le cycliste ou le piéton.

The action-hero drama of dodging obstacles and potholes, escaping devil-may-care drivers in super-fast cars, and braving the fierce, temperamental elements, may seem, and feel, quite comic. Unless you’re face-down on the pavement. With some wit, we endeavour to provide warning with humour; suggest danger with comedy; invite caution without frightening… and most importantly, we appeal to our fine city to remember that potholes aren’t just uncomfortable, they really, really hurt.

Un joli clin d’oeil, autant à l’utilisateur qu’à la municipalité responsable de l’entretien.

D’autres images : Urban Repair Squad photos on Flickr

Article original : http://torontoist.com/

Besoin de nature en ville ? Voici une proposition certes pas forcément pratique mais qui a l’avantage de faire sourire !

The Grass Wheel was created by a group of students from the Dalhousie School of Architecture and is a humorous look at the real need for green spaces in urban environments. With the Grass Wheel you can take green space with you wherever you travel.

Although the Grass Wheel may not be that practical, but the premise is based on sound science. Numerous studies have demonstrated that green space promotes feelings of well-being, safety, calm and has even been shown to aid in recovery from illness and/or medical conditions. Researchers at the University of Sheffield found that contact with green spaces has measurable physical and psychological benefits.

Via Greenmuze and Treehugger

Katie Sokoler est une photographe freelance qui vit à Brookly. Elle déborde d’inventivité et ses oeuvres sont toujours positives et touchantes… A découvrir !

Super jolie vidéo de présentation de chez Babelgum :

Katie Sokoler, you’re our hero! http://colormekatie.blogspot.com/

Roadsworth began painting the streets of Montreal in the fall of 2001. Initially motivated by a desire for more bike paths in the city and a questioning of « car culture»  in general, he continued to develop a language around street markings and other elements of the urban landscape using a primarily stencil based technique. In the fall of 2004, Roadsworth was arrested for his nocturnal activities and charged with 53 counts of mischief. Despite the threat of heavy fines and a criminal record he received a relatively lenient sentence which he attributes in part to the public support he received subsequent to his arrest. Since that time, Roadsworth has received various commissions for his work and continues to be active in both visual art and music.

What began as a form of activism rooted in a desire for more bike paths and justified by the rationale outlined above eventually grew into an art project that, to a certain extent, continues today. Fuelled by a sense of righteous indignation I also felt empowered by the expressive and creative outlet that street art afforded me. Instead of feeling like a helpless passenger on a train headed for disaster I felt that I had created a voice for myself amid the noise of the city.

Un documentaire sur Roadworth est sorti en 2009 et tourne en ce moment en Amérique du nord. Bande annonce :

Roadsworth: Crossing the Line

Francine Lord, Public Art Commissioner (à lire à haute voix avec l’accent québécois) :

A mon sens, c’est la première fois que les gens de la rue, le public, des gens ordinaires, s’adressent aux autorités municipales pour soutenir une oeuvre et un artiste. C’est pas rien ça !

Photos supplémentaires :

Roadsworth’ website : http://roadsworth.com/

Dans quel but ? Pour faire la promotion de sa location de voitures décapotables.

Est-ce aller trop loin ? Qu’en pensez-vous ?

Sixt “Blow the clouds away”

Driving a convertible in Halle (Salle) – at first glance this doesn’t appear particularly spectacular, but in reality it’s a small miracle. For Halle is statistically the rain capital of Europe, with 266 rainy days per year (2004). Sixt and advertising agency Jung von Matt/Elbe were evidently unwilling to accept this cold, wet situation, so they enlisted the help of former NVA fighter pilot Sandro Wolf who used the chemical silver iodide to “blow Halle’s clouds away”. This extraordinary feat can be witnessed in the film “Sun in Halle”, which is currently being exclusively screened at sixt.de. The film reveals the secrets of the pin-prick tactic, which Sandro Wolf uses to successfully combat rain and storm clouds. It also shows disturbingly beautiful images of a completely cloud-free Halle, as well as the city’s proud inhabitants enjoying the sun – in an affordable convertible from Sixt, of course.

« … Comme si la ville de São Paulo était un grand cahier d’écriture» 

A São Paulo, une forme d’expression urbaine suivant l’architecture de la ville, le pixo, a émergé, réalisée par des bandes de jeunes sans compromis.

Cette forme d’expression pose plein de questions importantes, intéressantes et même dérangeantes pour certaines sur notre rapport à l’art, l’architecture et la société en général.

Le générique avec « En exclusivité à la fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain»  en est un bon exemple…!

Excellents extraits du documentaire de João Weiner et Roberto Oliveira à voir ci dessous.

Merci Sylvain !

Une fausse version du New York post a été distribuée dans la rue aujourd’hui, une action des YesMen, Le journal est un faux, mais les faits publiés sont vrais, à propos du réchauffement climatique.

« WE’RE SCREWED» : MEDIA HEIST BLANKETS CITY WITH « SPECIAL EDITION»  NEW YORK POST
Tabloid Tells Truth About Climate Change and How It Will Affect City, World

Early this morning, nearly a million New Yorkers were stunned by the appearance of a « special edition»  New York Post blaring headlines that their city could face deadly heat waves, extreme flooding, and other lethal effects of global warming within the next few decades. The most alarming thing about it: the news came from an official City report.

Distributed by over 2000 volunteers throughout New York City, the paper has been created by The Yes Men and a coalition of activists as a wake-up call to action on climate change. It appears one day before a UN summit where Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will push 100 world leaders to make serious commitments to reduce carbon emissions in the lead-up to the Copenhagen climate conference in December. Ban has said that the world has « less than 10 years to halt (the) global rise in greenhouse gas emissions if we are to avoid catastrophic consequences for people and the planet,»  adding that Copenhagen is a « once-in-a-generation opportunity.» 

Although the 32-page New York Post is a fake, everything in it is 100% true, with all facts carefully checked by a team of editors and climate change experts.

« This could be, and should be, a real New York Post,»  said Andy Bichlbaum of the Yes Men. « Climate change is the biggest threat civilization has ever faced, and it should be in the headlines of every paper, every day until we solve the problem.» 

The fake Post’s cover story (» We’re Screwed» ) reports the frightening conclusions of a blue-ribbon panel of scientists commissioned by the mayor’s office to determine the potential effects of climate change on the City. That report was released in February of this year, but received very little press at the time. Other lead articles describe the Pentagon’s alarmed response to global warming (» Clear & Present Disaster» ), the U.S. government’s sadly minuscule response to the crisis (» Congress Cops Out on Climate» ), China’s alternative energy program (» ChinaÕs Green Leap Forward Overtakes U.S.» ), and how if the US doesn’t quickly pass a strong climate bill, the crucial Copenhagen climate talks this December could be a « Flopenhagen.» 

Another ad promotes civil disobedience, encouraging readers to visit BeyondTalk.net and pledge to risk arrest in a planned global action November 30, just before the conference in Copenhagen.

« We need strong action on climate change,»  said David Solnit of Mobilization for Climate Justice West, one of the partners in BeyondTalk.net. « But history shows that leaders act only when people take to the streets to demand it. That’s what needs to happen now.» 

This paper is one of 2500 initiatives taking place in more than 130 countries as a response to the « Global Wake-up Call»  on climate change. For more information, visit tcktcktck.org/wakeup

Une de ces actions est organisée par Tako. Check : http://www.tako.ch/blog/flash-mob-freeze-pour-lenvironnement-geneve-et-bruxelles/

Tweenbots are robots that navigate the city by the help of the people they meet. The project came about by an interest and an idea: the interest was in the way that we move through city space– what do we think about, how do we create maps and meaning based on our impressions and encounters as we go from one place to another? And, the idea was that I could facilitate narrative related to this complexity by creating objects that traverse the space along with us.

Rolling at a constant speed, in a straight line, tweenbots have a destination displayed on a flag, and are at the mercy of pedestrians they encounter to read this flag and to aim them in the right direction to reach their goal. The journey the bots take each time they are released in the city becomes a story of people’s willingness to engage with a strange– and some would say potentially suspicious– character.

As each encounter with a helpful pedestrian takes the robot one step closer to attaining it’s destination, the significance of our random discoveries and individual actions accumulates into a story about a vast space made small by an even smaller robot.

http://www.tweenbots.com/
Post original trouvé sur http://urbanprankster.com