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Culture Jamming In Galicia, Spain or Passport to the World

Published on July 6, 2007

If you believe, it doesn't have to be true. (Boy on Toy Plane)

As a New York-based filmmaker, it can be hard to remember that sometimes your work can have the most impact outside of your surroundings. I would have never imagined that participating in the 3rd TUI International Documentary Festival in Galicia, Spain would bring such joy, empowerment and sense of community as it did when I traveled there this March. I presented my feature-length documentary film POPaganda: The Art & Crimes of Ron English with culture jammer extraordinaire Ron English.

Sara Garcia, programmer of the festival, said this about our work, "The first 10-minutes of POPaganda: The Art & Crimes of Ron English were enough for us to know that we had our first feature documentary officially selected for this the 3rd edition of Play-Doc 07. And 57 minutes later, we were absolutely convinced that we had to bring both Pedro and Ron here to Galicia Spain no matter what. And that's how everything started for us. The rest was simple because the illusion we all had to have them both here overcame everything else."

As part of this fun and engaging event, the festival programmers, Angel Sanchez and Sara Garcia, asked us to design five billboards to be posted for public display in the heart of the historic district, within the old and beautiful city of Tui for the enjoyment of the people of Pontevedra. This opportunity gave Ron and I the chance to do something we could have rarely done in New York City or the US, a legally green-lighted culture jamming attack! We put up huge billboards displaying riveting and even comic images with intense and subversive underlying social and political commentary.

New Generation New World Order (Kid Guernica)

The first time we had the opportunity to do this was in Cleveland, Ohio during the screening of POPaganda at the 29th Cleveland International Film Festival in 2005. Ron designed a billboard dealing with the current situation in Iran. In order to do this, he utilized images from his original paintings including his personal interpretation of Picasso's Guernica. We were a bit worried about translation but the festival programmers made sure of a perfect translation into Gallego, spoken in Galicia, Spain, so that the humor and message were conveyed flawlessly.

Playdate Iran Billboard as posted in Cleveland, OH

But how to get the art from the US to Galicia, Spain and guarantee complete creative control for Ron? Once Ron knew that the translation was impeccable, he met with talented graphic artist Jim Gouign-Stook, resized and cropped the photographed versions of the paintings, and inserted the text in Gallego. This process gave Ron complete artistic autonomy, being vulnerable only to the printing process in Spain.

Like Father Like Son

Ron had many reflections about his experience in taking his work beyond US borders, but the one that stood out the most for me as his fan, colleague and fellow artist was:

Throughout my life my art has served as my passport, Spain being the perfect example. Being invited somewhere is far better than going as a tourist because not only do you get to experience the place, you get to truly know some of the people.

My work in Galicia was like getting invited to a dream party, but like with any party, you don't want to show up empty handed. There is nothing I would rather bring to the party than art. It is what I have dedicated my life to and any opportunity to share it is my greatest pleasure. Now, the coolest thing about this trip wasn't that they actually erected five billboards to display my pieces or that I got to create something especially for the town, but how easy Sara and Angel, the programmers made the whole thing seem. I could really feel the how much the whole town wanted to cooperate with their vision. I will be forever impressed and grateful to Sara, Angel, and everyone else who worked their butts off on the festival, and, of course, to Pedro who made this (and countless other adventures) possible. I guess I got my passport stamped good this time.

As a filmmaker Galicia, Spain and Play-Doc 2007 inspired me to keep going. Both Ron and I saw our work in a new light and our passports stamped. Stay tuned on more global adventures with POPaganda: The Art & Crimes of Ron English. You can also read about how it all began in the MediaRights.org Outreach Journal: POPaganda: Guerrilla Style DIY Distribution.

POPaganda: The Art & Crimes of Ron English was an official selection of the fourth annual Media That Matters Film Festival. Watch the eight-minute version, create your own culture jam, learn more about the filmmaker Pedro Carvajal or get tools to bring the film into your classroom, organization, circle of friends and community.

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This article is available for noncommercial use under a Creative Commons license. It was originally published on MediaRights.org, a project of Arts Engine, Inc. This notice must accompany the article at all times.