Alleyway Noticeboard (expanding New Beginnings’ Noticeboard), 2005
corkboard, pushpins, masonry screws, liquid nails (pdf)
ARTICLE II. ADVERTISEMENTS AND NOTICES Sec. 3-16. Name on advertisement evidence of knowledge. The name or part of the name of any person appearing on any bill, billboard, placard or other advertisement, or the fact that the goods, wares, merchandise or business of any person are advertised by such bill, billboard, placard or advertisement, shall be prima facie evidence of its presence there by authority or with the knowledge of such person. (Code 1975, § 3-5) Sec. 3-17. Signs, etc., prohibited except where expressly authorized by law. (a) No placard, poster, circular, showbill, handbill, card, leaflet, sign, or other advertising matter whatsoever shall be placed, posted, nailed, painted, printed, stamped, or in any way be attached, on any street or sidewalk, or upon any fence, wall, post, tree, platform tower, telegraph pole, telephone pole, electric light pole, or other utility pole or tower or in or upon any easement, right-of-way, or on property owned, managed or controlled by the City except where permitted by law. (b) No person shall post any bill or advertisement on any private property without the written consent of the owner thereof.
(1) New Beginings is an artist group operating in Sweden. They have been archiving a project entitled Noticeboard online for some time now. As explanation the group writes: We continuously install notice boards in Stockholm city, Sweden in response to the political majority´s decision to prohibit posting of bills on any site apart from public notice boards [and] to enable basic civil communication as a part of the cityscape. The boards put up by the counsil are few though. (2) City centers have commercial businesses, some which allow for the public to post flyers in their windows or, on notice boards inside their spaces. This mode of presenting information to the public is limiting and its accessibility restrictive. Alleyway Noticeboard is an expansion of New Beginnings’ project Noticeboard. Alleyway Noticeboard examines places for the working culture and the spaces where they take their work breaks. How can information reach the public beyond modes often limited by accessibility? If we want to find ways to disseminate information that is free of constraints (i.e. the internet, inconvenient public notice boards, systems of approval, indoors), then we might question the possibilities implicit in the placement of a public notice board, and why there are not more built into our everyday spaces. Those spaces that might reflect real concerns and true communication.
1. http://library.municode.com/mcc/home.htm?infobase=10520&doc_method=cleardoc
2. http://nbgngs.com/archive/archiveframesetnoticeboardv2.htm
Email correspondence with NewBeginings:
Charlie: I love your Noticeboard projects. I’ve emailed you before about some of the work I’ve done with a space called OPENSOURCE in Champaign, IL and mentioned my involvement with Dynamite this summer for Potential Energy. Anyway, I’d love to take a spin on your Noticeboard idea and try it here, in this place. Over the summer we ran into the problem of advertising a bake sale in whicha shop owner near our space said that if we left a trail of postings to our space we could be fined a serious amount of $$$. I instantly thought of your project and how much time we spend trying to find accessible noticeboards, and how often those boards neglect a portion of the population we might liketo notify. I thought about an approach and I’d love to get feedback. I started thinking of spaces for leisure, but not those that insist on purchasing something (i.e. the coffee shop). The places that allow for a “break,” but only momentarily. I think of the back alley to the restaurants, or the alleyways between commercial buildings. I’d like to think of the network that could be created by this position. It’s different from how I see your notice boards, but I think it might subvert some of the same problems our city has with ways of informing or being informed about ideas and activities. Let me know what you think and please help me by sharing some more of your experiences with your Notice board project. All my best. Charlie Roderick
NewBeginings: Hi Charlie! Great to hear that you like our notice boards. We were really interested in participating in the OPENSOURCE project but other things got in the way. When we put up the notice boards we did not have any permission and we did it pretty anonymous. This way, the notice boards became a buffer, making the postings somewhat less illegal. If we understand you correctly you are planning to put up boards at different spaces with someones approval? This will probably make the boards last for a longer time, which was our main problem. Some of our boards were functional for months and some lasted just a day or two. We also had a lot of fun in finding suitable spots, and even furthermore appropriate (already existing) mounting brackets (poles, signs etc.). We also put some effort into designing the boards. For examle, making them somewhat “childish” seems to have made them appear less threatening to authority (and individuals viewing themselves as thus). Your project sounds really interesting and it would be nice to hear some more about the progress. If you have any specific questions just send us a mail. Best regards, NewBeginings
Charlie: thanks for the response. I’ve attached 2 pdf files. one is a front page and the other is a back page. I’ve been making double-sided 8.5 X 11 (or sometimes tabloid) leaflets. if you print the 2 pdf files front and back and then fold the long side in half and then the short side, they make a small booklet. anyway, this is a brief explanation of the project expanding on your idea. I like re-contextualizing your idea here with some appropriations (alleyways). I actually think it’s essential that the the boards are installed without approval. approval is what becomes the divide between who sees what and where. I hope that made sense. The boards should reflect the problem of how and where we find information, but actively pose a solution. that’s what I admire in the work I see you doing. how else can we question the meaning of things? we need models which point to a question and instigate a solution. shit, I’m off the subject. feedback. you guys rock! keep doing what your doing. maybe someday my friends and I will make our way to your town. best. charlie
NewBeginings: Hej Charlie. The leaflet looks great! As well as the noticeboards. Even though we printed the backside upside down. We also think that there is a point in not asking for permission too often, but then again there is also some given problems attatched to this approach. Things sometimes tend to automatically become a little more confrontative, often on the coast of the pedagogics and useabillitys of things. Even a nice thing as a noticeboard can be understood as a hardcore autonomus action. This is in itself interesting since it reveals how far (off) the general debate has driven. As a general rule we try to do things as simple as possible (wich usually results in a small portion of illegality), keeping the goal in mind and getting something done. And as for you and your friends, it would be great to have you dropping by, just bear in mind that the town has changed to Malmö (next to Copenhagen). Simma lungt / terje o newbeginings
