Download your very own “big fucking laser”.

gRAFFITI rESEARCH lAB

“Dedicated to outfitting graffiti artists with open source technologies for urban Communication”

This is what G.R.L can offer you! With the slightest twitch of your hand you too can have the ability to make a statement; 200 ft tall. These unknown instigators (I've tried feverishly to find out who they truly are) have concocted a techi system capable of turning any ninny on the street into a true graffiti artist. Living by an “open source belief” these artists have made accessible to the public through their website, instructions and codes on how any average Joe (well maybe not so average but perhaps an extremely resourceful nerdy chap) can create a projection system capable of projecting real time graffiti onto the facades of big ass buildings.

These guys have been all over the place, having fun or making serious commentary on political and social issues relative to the cities that they decide to merrily or seriously encroach upon. In their Rotterdam L.A.S.E.R.T.A.G. Tour, the team (also can't be sure to their true group representative number...perhaps five) arrived to the top of a parking garage in their Hymermobil, a souped up R.V., and set up camp. Laptops, projectors, lasers and camera's were calibrated to accept the nights coming ephemeral vandalism. On an over 200 ft. facade the group took turns lasering the building with electric blue stylized text of their tag names and cartoony logos. At one point cops appeared to question the event only to retreat after learning of innocent artistic intention. The next tag on the wall was “fuck pigs”.

In another episode this past April of this year, the group collaborated with other guerrilla like groups (A28, thruth move, geek graffiti crew, home X heroes, OpenLab, and Lean Reid) to spread the propaganda to impeach Dick Cheney. The team busted out their pimped-out rickshaw cart and bikes, equipped with intense sound systems and while pumping grooves, transversed the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to the B-side. It was a spectacle indeed that made some onlookers cringe and others break out in dance.

Once deciding on an appropriate building to project on (there are detailed instructions on the website of the characteristics of appropriate buildings), the group dismounted and set up the Big Laser. Their words of discontent with politician's agendas flared up in electric blue, sending the message loud and clear.

So where does this all leave the 20' by 20' piece of road? 1. Projection indeed. It's fast and quick and unexpected on a surface such as Piedmont Ave. It's still not clear to me what the message should be, but what is clear is that an inundation of words or images is important and observer inclusion and participation. That constant stimulation seems critical in grabbing passer byers attention. One primitive setup could be that the projection coming from a computer could be “commandeered” by cell phone operation. If someone wants their message projected they simply text their message to a cell phone (mine), and those messages are transmitted to the computer (again by me the transmitter). Thoughts? Suggestions?

http://graffitiresearchlab.com Check out their website for the screenings