These are seed bombs. They are the inspiration for the term I made up to describe what I am talking about on Museum Unbound, “Culture-Bombing“.
The function of a seed bomb is a radical insertion of flowers into the landscape. You don’t ask for permission to plant a garden. You toss in a seed bomb and one grows.
Culture bombing is the same. You don’t ask for permission. You toss in some culture (be it art, history, science, whatever) and a conversation grows.
There are thousands of ways that people are doing this. Culture-bombs can be digital, mobile or physical. They can be planned by organizations, institutions or individuals.
The possibilities are what makes them great.
Neat idea, and great inspiration! This concept reminds me a bit of the work Adbusters does. They call themselves “culture jammers,” and they modify existing ad campaigns to make them more truthful and call attention to the manipulative techniques involved in marketing. Here’s a gallery of their spoof ads: http://www.adbusters.org/spoofads
Posted by Emma M | May 11, 2012, 2:38 am