In New York City, authorities offer $500 rewards for the arrest and conviction of anyone who commits graffiti vandalism. But now, some of those committing the crime are rewarded by having their work included in a new book about the carvings, stencils, doodles, and tags that cover promotional images across the city. New York Dick: Lewd Drawings and Obnoxious Comments on New York City Advertising Posters is a compilation of large-scale ads that have been anonymously defaced, most often with crudely-drawn phalluses.
According to the book’s editor, Galen Smith, the contentious artwork is a response to the advertising industry’s manipulation of captive audiences: “Whether it’s a dick in the eye or a gap-toothed grimace these contributions are never flattering but are often amusing, and are a rare example of consumer audience interrupting the ubiquitous drone of media hype with a dirty dash of absurd realism.”
Click through below for more images from the book.
