Email this article
Printable version
Artist English refuses passivity in face of Madison Ave. pressure
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Photo by Courtesy of Vagrant Films
An example of Ron English’s work on a Jersey City, N.J., billboard in 1996.
English is the subject of the 2005 film, "Popaganda," which will open today at the Abbey Theatre. Most of the documentary centers on English's usurpation of billboards in New York City and around the country. Only in the latter part of the film does director Pedro Carvajal address English's recent success, which is why this is such a downright fun movie. It's not the story of Ron English; it's the story of unabashed and unrepentant rebellion.
"Popaganda" is an extended version of what was once a half-hour film shot by friends of English who helped him plaster his full-size, realistic-looking billboard and poster replacements on existing advertising spaces throughout the Tri-State area. The crew drove around in a van in plain daylight and was rarely interrupted from their work because it looked like they were supposed to be there.
"I live in a big magazine ... take back the media and take back the message," the New York native said of his many attacks on Joe Camel, the R.J. Reynolds advertising icon that became a favorite target of the crew.
"You can be passive about it or confront it," he said.
Over the years, English's confrontational style has led to countless arrests (none of which were caught on film) and fights (including one caught on camera showing the crew members barely escaping with their lives after posting a billboard of Jesus on the cross that read "Let's Get Drunk & Kill God").
It also put a strain on his marriage. In a scene from a television talk show in the '80s, English's wife got the artist to pledge to a year without advertising piracy, on tape. Later in the film, she revealed that the pledge lasted two weeks, but by then she was softened by her husband's commercial success.
In another scene, English unapologetically tells the late talk-show host Morton Downey Jr. that every time he pasted over a billboard it was a second-degree felony.
"I don't pretend it's not illegal," English said.
"Legally I don't have a right, but I have an obligation. ... Corporations don't deserve free speech," he said.
Even though it's taken four years for "Popaganda" to reach a Durango screen, it's a classic case of better late than never. It's another on a long list of quality movies at the Abbey that all too often go underattended while mass-market garbage plays to packed houses and makes no-talent hacks such as Adam Sandler multimillionaires.
Maybe it's time to finally break that trend - "Popaganda" can teach you a few lessons on how it's done, and keep you laughing from start to finish.
ted@durangoherald.com
advertisement
If you have been planning to buy your first home or haven't owned a home in the last three years, now is the best time to purchase. If you purchase your home before December 1st, you can claim an $8000 tax credit from the IRS! This is real but you have to act soon. There has never been a better time or a better incentive to become a homeowner than right now!!!
Durango Herald Calendar of Events
