BE A CRIMINAL

Keith Haring: Criminal. Began painting his figure of the "Radiant Baby" throughout the subway stations and streets of New York City in the late 1970's. The image, a symbol of hope and unity for the new generations in America, gained him notoriety and international acclaim. Within a matter of years he was rubbing elbows with Andy Warhol, trading the streets of New York City for some of the most renown gallery spaces in the world. He continued to make pieces that embodied his message, and went on to produce some of the most prolific pieces on the subject of awareness and social change. Works addressing the evils of drugs, and AIDS awareness still stand in NYC. This criminal changed the world. 

Shepard Fairey: Criminal. Plastered custom made "Andre The Giant Has A Posse" stickers all over RISD durring his time at art school there The images, stuck on stop signs, buildings, all over campus, opened his eyes to the possibility of public areas as a powerful medium to reach the public. The founder of OBEY Clothing Company, his murals all over Boston challenge the role of mass media in our lives, and its potential to deliver ideas. "The Medium Is The Message" became his slogan. His "Hope" picture of Barack Obama has become one of the most iconic images of our generations, and influenced millions on a level almost unimaginable. This criminal changed the world. 

JR: Criminal. Began spray painting the streets of France in his youth. After finding a cheep camera in the subway, he began taking pictures of him and his friends as they tagged the subways and buildings of Paris. He posted blown up copies of these pictures illegally in sidewalk galleries for the whole city to see, framing the pictures with spray paint, leaving a permanent frame once the pictures were removed. After seeing one of his pictures staring back at him in a news broadcast during the riots of 2005, he realized the power of an image. JR has since gone on to embark on projects that have taken him from Rio to Israel to Africa, creating pieces that celebrate the downtrodden and persecuted people of the world, and challenge the violence and ignorance that define the lives of so many. Having recently won the TED grant, he continues to work on projects that can give the power of images back to the people, allowing everyone to make a difference. This criminal is changing the world. 

(Insert Your Name Here): Criminal. Began spreading the ideas of The Cult Of Done Manifesto  using the stencils provided below throughout their environment as an experiment in the power of public space as a medium. The stencils, whether blurry, runny, or incomplete, represented the basic ideas of the Manifesto: they were done. Their messages carved in metaphorical stone as a message for the world to see, to spread the Done mindset and influence others in the same path to growth, expression, and inspirational influence. 

You can't finish until you have begun. 

You can't change the world until you've challenged it. 

Will you be a criminal? 

Will you change the world? 

The Cult Of Done Manifesto

1. There are three states of being. Not knowing, action, and completion.

2. Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.

3. There is no editing stage.

4. Pretending you know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you're doing even if you don't and do it.

5. Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.

6. The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.

7. Once you're done you can throw it away.

8. Laugh at perfection. It's boring and keeps you from being done.

9. People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.

10. Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.

11. Destruction is a variant of done.

12. If you have an idea and publish it on the internet, that counts as a ghost of done.

13. Done is the engine of more. 

All you need is...

• A printed template page 
• A fine tipped marker 
• A clear plastic sheet (e.g. a clear file folder) 
• An exact-o knife
• Spray paint, or a stencil brush and paint 

So you can...

1. Put the printed page under the translucent sheet of plastic. 
2. Carefully trace the dark parts of the letters 
3. Even more carefully cut out the traced areas with the exact-o knife
4. Find a tasteful and meaningful location 
5. Take up your stencil 
6. Make your mark (spray paint: a few even coats with the nozzle about 12 inches from the surface, stencil brush: carefully applied in a clockwise direction directly to the surface in light layers)

Disclaimer: Neither I, nor the other members/administration of this blog, endorse criminal activity. The editors and authors of this blog insist that you choose tasteful and responsible locations for your art work and must remind you that defacing public or private property is a crime punishable by law. While I do want you to explore your surroundings and the possibility of public space as a medium, I insist that you do not break the law in doing so. The responsibility is yours if this is a choice that you make.