Trust TrustoCorp.
In late 2009, some strange street signs began being erected in New York. They directed us to fallout shelters, reminded us to 'curb your God', and declared dedicated vandalism zones. 'BKLYN RPRSNT' and 'YOU ARE NOT COOL' signs popped up in Williamsburg, Wall Street was informed that 'broke is the new black', and Madison Avenue was declared a frugality free area.
Six months later, signs were appearing all over America. Miami, LA, Detroit and Austin were all hit, and everyone realised that this couldn't be the work of just a single angst-filled construction worker. The BBC and ABC world news took notice, and suddenly a movement was on the rise. Believed to be a conglomerate of street artists based in New York, headed by the almighty Mr. Trusto, more and more civilians are being roped in to spread their fabulously cynical message.
They now have quite literally made their mark on New York, forming a giant 'up yours' finger via the placement of their street signs in Manhattan. There's a nifty Google Map image here to see what we mean.
We also blogged about a recent product-placement spoof that saw 'bulemia' chocolate bars and 'eat the rich' breakfast cereal (among others) appear in New York delis and bodegas overnight. Read about it here.
A friend of a friend of mine recently met 'the' TrustoCorp while downing
a couple of pints in a bar after Shepard Fairey's opening of his May
Day Exhibition in New York. I can't say too much, but let's just say that
TrustoCorp may be coming to a Melbourne street near you.
We've got a couple dozen of our favourite examples for you below to click upon. For a full gallery, check out their flickr.