Derek Bledsoe, Boing Boing Video producer, is blogging daily Boing Boing Video episodes while Xeni’s on the road in Africa.
In today’s Boing Boing Video episode, we present an excerpt from the National Film Board of Canada feature “Roadsworth: Crossing the Line” a documentary which follows the work of Canadian street artist Peter Gibson, aka Roadsworth.
Gibson integrates provocative art with government traffic signage, questioning the ownership of public space.
In 2001, he began his street painting campaign to question car culture, and encourage his neighbors to share the road with fellow bicyclists. What began as a sort of street safety PSA evolved into an illegal art campaign spanning almost 3 years — until Gibson was finally caught, with paint-stained hands, and charged with 53 counts of “mischief.”
While many of the street scenes he painted may long since have been painted over, the legend of Roadsworth lives on through this film.
For those of you attending the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas next week, you can watch the whole feature in entirety on Saturday, March 14th, at The Hideout. Details here.
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You can download the MP4 here.
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