Rethinking The Marquee Tool
January 20, 2009 5:04 AM Subscribe
Inspired by NYC's Poster Boy and the hilarity of online celebrity photoshop disasters, Berlin's culture jamming F.T.W. crew recently organized a hit on Britney, Christina and Leona in an underground U-Bahn station. Note from the group's flickr sets that they were also recently responsible for a project based on John Carpenter's They Live.
Clone stamp.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:13 AM on January 20, 2009
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:13 AM on January 20, 2009
The hit on Britney, Christina and Leona seems to involve Photoshopping images of Photoshop menus into pictures that otherwise didn't show explicit Photoshop treatment.
It's really an ad for Photoshop™, isn't it?
posted by twoleftfeet at 5:17 AM on January 20, 2009 [2 favorites]
It's really an ad for Photoshop™, isn't it?
posted by twoleftfeet at 5:17 AM on January 20, 2009 [2 favorites]
Pretty cool idea, although it seems to be getting a little too much hysterical approval by the internet. This is like the 4th link I've seen to it in a week. And if the They Live billboards are any clue to the originality of the group, it's a one-hit-wonder.
posted by DU at 5:33 AM on January 20, 2009
posted by DU at 5:33 AM on January 20, 2009
pictures that otherwise didn't show explicit Photoshop treatment.
What? Human beings have never looked like that.
fnord
posted by dunkadunc at 5:42 AM on January 20, 2009
What? Human beings have never looked like that.
fnord
posted by dunkadunc at 5:42 AM on January 20, 2009
jonmc: "Who the hell is Leona Lewis?"
Seems to be an English pop star.
never heard of her either
posted by octothorpe at 5:43 AM on January 20, 2009
Seems to be an English pop star.
never heard of her either
posted by octothorpe at 5:43 AM on January 20, 2009
Who the hell is Leona Lewis?
Someone whose publicist paid good money to get her between two people famous enough to prompt you to ask that question.
posted by scottreynen at 6:07 AM on January 20, 2009
Someone whose publicist paid good money to get her between two people famous enough to prompt you to ask that question.
posted by scottreynen at 6:07 AM on January 20, 2009
HEY GUYS DID YOU KNOW THAT MASS MEDIA TENDS TO PROMOTE AN UNREALISTIC INTERPRETATION OF HUMAN SEXUALITY
NO REALLY
posted by mightygodking at 6:13 AM on January 20, 2009 [5 favorites]
NO REALLY
posted by mightygodking at 6:13 AM on January 20, 2009 [5 favorites]
Are there a bunch of in-jokes here that would be hilarious to people who are more familiar with Photoshop than I am?
posted by box at 6:23 AM on January 20, 2009
posted by box at 6:23 AM on January 20, 2009
My God. I had no idea. Next thing, you'll be telling me they wear makeup or get cosmetic surgery.
posted by The Bellman at 6:52 AM on January 20, 2009
posted by The Bellman at 6:52 AM on January 20, 2009
Seems like the people who are familiar enough with Photoshop to get this already know all about print model photoshoppery, and the people who might be better off knowing how much editing a magazine photo goes through won't understand (or won't notice) why there's gray boxes on the photos.
Works well as an in-joke, though.
posted by echo target at 6:59 AM on January 20, 2009
Works well as an in-joke, though.
posted by echo target at 6:59 AM on January 20, 2009
I don't think they really used the marquee tool very much in the examples given.
posted by Mister_A at 7:01 AM on January 20, 2009
posted by Mister_A at 7:01 AM on January 20, 2009
Mister_A, the links in F-T-W go to the members' flickr pages where you can see pictures. And no, I don't think they used the marquee tool, it was more just a photoshop joke referencing a publicity platform.
posted by mannequito at 7:09 AM on January 20, 2009
posted by mannequito at 7:09 AM on January 20, 2009
Wow, I didn't realize the childish vandalism committed by me and my friends around Christmas of 1988 after seeing that movie elevated us to culture jammer status.
Flagged as 'hack'.
posted by Pastabagel at 7:17 AM on January 20, 2009
Flagged as 'hack'.
posted by Pastabagel at 7:17 AM on January 20, 2009
Young upstarts. BLF 4 lyfe, but it's good to see the there are others who are keeping advertisements interesting.
Is "photoshopping" a common phrase to most people? I'll assume most here know what it is, but does the public at large also know? Because if so, selling the product is not so necessary. Also, the software isn't cheap. There's the stripped-down version, which is still about $100. The upgrade to "Elements" is still $79!
Do you know who else liked They Live? Um, Shepard Fairey
posted by filthy light thief at 7:22 AM on January 20, 2009
Is "photoshopping" a common phrase to most people? I'll assume most here know what it is, but does the public at large also know? Because if so, selling the product is not so necessary. Also, the software isn't cheap. There's the stripped-down version, which is still about $100. The upgrade to "Elements" is still $79!
Do you know who else liked They Live? Um, Shepard Fairey
posted by filthy light thief at 7:22 AM on January 20, 2009
filthy light thief:
Photoshop: Digital image manipulation::Xerox:Photocopying
I think a lot of people have some general misconceptions about "Photoshopping".
posted by Mister_A at 7:27 AM on January 20, 2009
Photoshop: Digital image manipulation::Xerox:Photocopying
I think a lot of people have some general misconceptions about "Photoshopping".
posted by Mister_A at 7:27 AM on January 20, 2009
Hey what movie was that Pastabagel?
posted by Mister_A at 10:24 AM on January 20
The movie was "They Live", referenced in the FPP. Interesting fact: the author of the short story upon which the film is based, and which you can read here, is also credited with inventing the propeller beanie.
posted by Pastabagel at 7:35 AM on January 20, 2009
posted by Mister_A at 10:24 AM on January 20
The movie was "They Live", referenced in the FPP. Interesting fact: the author of the short story upon which the film is based, and which you can read here, is also credited with inventing the propeller beanie.
posted by Pastabagel at 7:35 AM on January 20, 2009
Oh, duh. I get it. You were referring to the "They Live" business, not to the "Christina Aguilera Photoshop" business. Cuz I was like, what movie in 1988 had photoshopping digital image processing and vandalism and billboards and stuff?
posted by Mister_A at 7:43 AM on January 20, 2009
posted by Mister_A at 7:43 AM on January 20, 2009
It was done better by Dove, a few years ago.
posted by LMGM at 7:58 AM on January 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by LMGM at 7:58 AM on January 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
Whether or not it makes a "useful" or "important" point aside, stick-on interface graffiti is awesome.
posted by freebird at 8:42 AM on January 20, 2009
posted by freebird at 8:42 AM on January 20, 2009
Hrm..Anything more on Poster Boy?
posted by gorgor_balabala at 9:12 AM on January 20, 2009
posted by gorgor_balabala at 9:12 AM on January 20, 2009
Slightly less amusing and socially relevant than lolcats.
posted by signal at 9:50 AM on January 20, 2009
posted by signal at 9:50 AM on January 20, 2009
My friend Roddy Piper and I had a huge fight about this, but he finally convinced me to click on the links.
posted by orme at 10:05 AM on January 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by orme at 10:05 AM on January 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
Mister_A - good point and good example.
gorgor_balabala - I'd say "just effin google it," but "poster boy" is a rather generic term. Add in "Subway Art," and you'll find an interview or two. Most are just musings on his work.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:49 AM on January 20, 2009
gorgor_balabala - I'd say "just effin google it," but "poster boy" is a rather generic term. Add in "Subway Art," and you'll find an interview or two. Most are just musings on his work.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:49 AM on January 20, 2009
Entertaining prank.
I understand the rationale of culture-jamming (I used to be a subscriber to Adbusters but feel heavily out of love with it), but some of the shock-horror that adheres to image retouching in adverts and magazines baffles me. Obviously retouching, heavy retouching, goes on - what is the big deal?* Of course it looks absurd when it's done badly, but it no more enforces an unrealistic idea of beauty than proofreading enforces an unrealistic idea of the general standard of written English. It's the companies and industries that are promoting the beauty myth, and they'd be doing it with conventional photography and illustrations if they weren't using Photoshop.
* In this context, I am talking about the retouching of celeb pics in entertainment magazines and adverts, not vanishing commissars and adding extra rocket launchers to a picture in in the World section, that's clearly unforgiveable deception. But don't think that those pictures don't get tweaked a bit as well for quality.
posted by WPW at 11:15 AM on January 20, 2009
I understand the rationale of culture-jamming (I used to be a subscriber to Adbusters but feel heavily out of love with it), but some of the shock-horror that adheres to image retouching in adverts and magazines baffles me. Obviously retouching, heavy retouching, goes on - what is the big deal?* Of course it looks absurd when it's done badly, but it no more enforces an unrealistic idea of beauty than proofreading enforces an unrealistic idea of the general standard of written English. It's the companies and industries that are promoting the beauty myth, and they'd be doing it with conventional photography and illustrations if they weren't using Photoshop.
* In this context, I am talking about the retouching of celeb pics in entertainment magazines and adverts, not vanishing commissars and adding extra rocket launchers to a picture in in the World section, that's clearly unforgiveable deception. But don't think that those pictures don't get tweaked a bit as well for quality.
posted by WPW at 11:15 AM on January 20, 2009
filthy light thief lamented Young upstarts. BLF 4 lyfe, but it's good to see the there are others who are keeping advertisements interesting.
Aren't you sweet. We greatly encourage young upstarts, and they certainly are ambitious. I do think they are trying to hard approach as the message is crafted from the POV of an artist, not as consumers. Being overly clever sometimes comes off at being talked down to, not at. Everyone knows advertising is demeaning in some sense, the ideal goal of a culture jammer is to point out the 18'x36' emperor has no clothes.
Guerrilla Poster Liberation, doesn't really strike me as strong culture jamming statement, more of a re-contextualizing of advertising, which almost slips into just 'pop art'.
The They Live homage is neat, but the joke runs thin pretty quick.
Photoshop palette is very clever, and I've always believe the less you change, the better the improvement. This one is a winner.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 11:33 AM on January 20, 2009
Aren't you sweet. We greatly encourage young upstarts, and they certainly are ambitious. I do think they are trying to hard approach as the message is crafted from the POV of an artist, not as consumers. Being overly clever sometimes comes off at being talked down to, not at. Everyone knows advertising is demeaning in some sense, the ideal goal of a culture jammer is to point out the 18'x36' emperor has no clothes.
Guerrilla Poster Liberation, doesn't really strike me as strong culture jamming statement, more of a re-contextualizing of advertising, which almost slips into just 'pop art'.
The They Live homage is neat, but the joke runs thin pretty quick.
Photoshop palette is very clever, and I've always believe the less you change, the better the improvement. This one is a winner.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 11:33 AM on January 20, 2009
I think this is awesome, but I am easy to impress.
posted by BabySeven at 1:52 PM on January 20, 2009
posted by BabySeven at 1:52 PM on January 20, 2009
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posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 5:07 AM on January 20, 2009