Formation.
press release 27th November 1991 Formation of conceptual performance art group Advertising Art On Sunday 24th November 1991 Advertising Art began. Due to lack of funding and recent demoralisation of artists there are no members or resources. To get around these problems it was decided that Advertising Art would be a conceptual group. Advertising Art is dedicated to questioning. For further details please contact Heath on 0272 550681.
Environmental Forces.
The clipping is from the Bristol Evening Post, Thursday, February 13, 1992, page 3. The article reads: Guessing game of mystery car park snapper By Louise Jury A MYSTERY photographer is baffling police with his strange behaviour in a city centre car park. Police want to track him down to find out why he was taking pictures of drivers as they arrived at the Trenchard Street NCP car park in Bristol on Tuesday. Forty motorists were caught on film by the man, and later found the pictures underneath their car windscreens, accompanied by a printed card. It said: “You and your car are invited to take part in a performance entitled Environmental Forces this Friday. “You and your car must leave your place of residence and travel into the centre of Bristol in search of resources without which you would not even get home. “You will be in direct competition with other car driver teams and subject to unknown factors.” A police spokeswoman said: “I wouldn’t blame anybody who took a look at this and thought it was suspicious. “There is nothing to identify who it is from. It might be completely innocent, but if it is meant to be doing good, then they haven’t really put their case forward.” Four people contacted police with their photographs, concerned at what the card meant. But the police have no clue, except an NCP car park attendant who asked the photographer and was told he was part of the university. A Bristol University spokeswoman thought it unlikely the mystery was linked to them. The students’ rag week treasurer, Miss Rebecca Wolf, said it was not connected to their activities. And Mr Tony Ambrose, of the Bristol Cycling Campaign, which is opposed to more traffic on the roads for environmental reasons, knew nothing of the photographs. A photo caption in the article reads: “The cryptic message.”
The card reads: **REGISTRATION NO.** PPk 276x You and your car are invited to take part in a performance entitled Environmental Forces this Friday. You and your car must leave your place of residence and travel into the centre of Bristol in search of resources, without which you and your car would not even get home. You will be in direct competition with other car/driver teams and subject to other unknown factors. Please find attached a photo of you and your car. “PPk 276x” is handwritten; the rest is printed.
Press Release Advertising Art present a performance entitled Environmental Forces using 5O cans asking place In Bristol on Friday 14 Febuary. 50 cars will make their ways from different locations into the centre of Bristol. Each driver/car relationship will be in search of resources for their own survival. This will add to the morning traffic congestion though, thus threatening the success of every other driver/car relationship on the road. Environmental Forces aims to discuss self regulation, self maintenance and symbiotic evolutionary progress of driver/car relationship. This performance will be accompanied by simultaneous installation works (audio, visual, electromagnetic). Advertising Art is conceptual performance group. For further details please. contact Heath on 0272 550681
Report Environmental Forces Bristol and many other cities are now facing a serious smog problem caused by the motor car. This performance was devised to debate the car/driver relationship and its impact on others and the environment. Press releases were sent to the national media, and the performance was subsequently publicised on BBC One TV, Galaxy Radio, and Venue Magazine. Others not confirmed. Three days before the event, photographs of the first car/driver relationships entering the NCP car park on Park Road were taken. These were then quickly developed and placed on the relevant cars in the absence of the drivers, with an attached card as a personalised gift. This card read: "You and your car are invited to take part in a performance entitled Environmental Forces this Friday. You and your car must leave your place of residence and travel into the centre of Bristol in search of resources, without which you and your car would not even get home. You will be in direct competition with other car/driver teams and subject to other unknown factors. Please find attached a photo of you and your car." Whilst the photographs were being taken, many people complained to the management of the car park. Once the cards and the photos had been installed, many more complained and some even contacted the police, thus initiating police investigations and articles in the local press. A police spokeswoman said: "I wouldn't blame anybody who took a look at this and thought it was suspicious." The drivers were also subjected to other unknown factors. Audio works were installed into the electromagnetic spectrum of Bristol. Video text works were installed into the Watershed Media Centre. A performance with two humans and one car was shown on a traffic island in the centre of Bristol. Poster installations took place all around Bristol, including at Substrasa Gallery, Old Market roundabout, and the Arnolini bin shed. Advertising Art is a conceptual performance group. Please find enclosed photographic images. For further details, please contact Heath on 0272 550881. Advertising Art.
Mystery car park snappers report. A group of radical artists were last night revealed as the mystery photographers who baffled police and motorists in a city center car park. Members of advertising art group say they were the people taking photographs. Of motorists at the NCP car park in Trenchard Street, Bristol. Fifty motorists had their pictures taken last Tuesday? They later found the pictures underneath their car windscreen wipers, accompanied by a cryptic message about a performance on environmental forces. Several motorists complained to the police who said they were baffled by the message. But last night, an artist who only identified himself as Heath from St Werburgh's, Bristol, said the environmental forces campaign aimed to highlight the serious smog problem caused by cars. It was divised to debate the car/driver relationship and its impact on others and their environment, he said.
Funded Art.
PRESS RELEASE Advertising Art present a performance entitled "Funded Art, Corporate Advertising", taking place this May. In the light that advertising is now the most popular visual art, we aim to discuss the differences, if any, between fine art and advertising. Art will be installed into poor advertising media throughout Bristol, such as billboards, magazines and fly-posters. To encourage the search of meaning, advertising (riddle) methods and art (hidden reference) games will be used. Advertising Art is a conceptual performance group and has no members or political sponsors to hinder its progress. For further details, contact Heath on 0272 58061.
Substrasse Gallery.
PRESS RELEASE 27th November 1991 Advertising Art Present A performance entitled Substrasse Gallery, commencing on the 20th of December 1991 and running for one week. Various artists will contribute their work to an unfunded, non-profit making gallery situated under Maudlin Street. More people will then come and react to the work. Some will admire and some will scorn. Some will even destroy. The performance aims to discuss issues such as careerism and profiteering, alienation, positive and negative forms of creativity. No works will be for sale. For further details, please contact Heath on 0272 550681.
BRISTOL AND WESTERN HEALTH AUTHORITY SECURITY INCIDENT REPORT 05495 Hospital / Establishment: UBHT BRI (United Bristol Healthcare Trust / Bristol Royal Infirmary) Department: Subway under Maudlin Street Room Number: Not specified Date: Friday 8th November 1991 Time: 19:34 INCIDENT AND ACTION Graffiti - "some" will indeed "Destroy" Name Dudley Todd
Over sixty guests turned up to the opening of Gallery Substrasse in the BRI Underpass on December the 20th, where some eighteen artists exhibited. All were served with warming snacks and non-alcoholic punch. The arts group Advertising Art, who were behind the exhibition and who, you may remember, have no money, no resources, and no members, have come out with a statement for the new year. I do not intend to reproduce it in full, but the gist of it is that galleries during the past year have ignored art which is challenging, because unchallenging art was more profitable. Advertising Art produce work that is (natch) challenging and in resentment and frustration they have taken to the streets. Cities around England are facing the brunt of a new challenge, and guess what? Bristol is one of the cities which is at the mercy of this new direction. God shield us.
Advertising Art Advertising Art (AA) are a loose group who want to make art more accessible. They want to do away with the idea that art is this amazing thing stuck up there which isn't for the ordinary man on the street. They complain that art establishments play it safe, promoting profitable or well-known artists. A gallery showing in December, in the BRI subway, aroused considerable hostility from the hospital's security service and a stream of abuse from the Guardian's arts editor. Moving on from notoriety to respectability. Two billboards have been donated to AA in February. One's at the Arches on Cheltenham Road. The other on Whitby Road. Publicity, perhaps, for the billboard companies, but also welcome publicity for public art. A spokesperson claims that the donation of billboards for a limited time will become flavour of the month. Indeed, in this women's festival month, a subgroup of women's photography group called Billboards have secured space on the sites. J. Rayson
FESTIVE HOT POOP Announcing the formation of Conceptual Performance Arts art group with no money, no resources, and no members. (This is true, I swear.) The name of the Bristol-based group is Advertising Art, and in order to solve my problems, it has been decided to make the group a conceptual group. They are, it says here, dedicated to questioning. However, in the teeth of demoralization, advertising art will present a performance and an exhibition on Friday, 20th of December, commencing at 6 PM, and consisting of work that aims to discuss such issues as careerism and profiteering, alienation, positive and negative forms of creativity. The exhibition will be at the Substrasse Gallery, situated in underpass by the BRI, and will run for a week. But the opening night sounds like the place to be. A number of serious but nameless artists will be contributing their work, which will not be for sale. The only name I have in connection with this event is that of Heath, who informs me that: Paranoia tells me it won't happen. Experience tells me it will. Further details (maybe) from Heath on Bristol 550 681.
Report. Substrasser Gallery. Artists with new challenging works need a frequented public space free from the interferrence of careerism and profiteering, as found in established exhibition spaces. The subway under Maudlin Street was ideal with this purpose. Over twenty people were invited to contribute to an event called Substrasa Gallery, which took place on 20/12/1991. Three different press releases were sent out to publicize the event. On the night of Friday 20th of December 1991, eighteen people of differing ages, backgrounds, sexes, and occupations contributed works including posters, sculptures, performance, and music to the gallery. The opening lasted over two and a half hours and was attended by up to sixty people. Non-alcoholic punch and mince pies were served. Please find photographic images enclosed. For further details, please contact Heath on 0272 550 681. Advertising art.