It's like Banksy meets candid camera.

April 27, 2009 8:29 PM

Some friends and I want to take a series of staged pictures of pedestrians standing in front of street art to comic effect, and I need your help brainstorming, hive mind.

For example, imagine drawing an arm on a wall holding a pistol towards an imaginary head, and then a businessman stands in front of it so the arm looks like its coming out of his shoulder. Comedy gold.

Other ideas I've come up with:

- a real cop standing sideways in front of a drawing of a protester's placard saying "Fuck The Police"

- anyone standing under a falling safe

- a giant vice squeezing someone's head

- a giant face shushing a real person talking on a cell phone

They don't all have to be this violent or offensive. Cute is fine. It just has to be funny or visually striking.

What else ya got for me?

posted by Bobby Bittman to Media & Arts (12 answers total)

Response by poster: Also, has anyone ever seen this done before? Links to images appreciated. Thanks.
posted by Bobby Bittman at 8:47 PM on April 27, 2009

Just the other day, a coworker showed me a pic her boyfriend took of her standing in front of a pair of butterfly wings that had been painted on wall downtown at just the right height to look like they were coming out of her back.
posted by scody at 9:07 PM on April 27, 2009

Photographer Michael Hughes does something kind of like this: he holds up little plastic souvenirs in front of actual landmarks and photographs them so that the toy is in perspective.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 11:11 PM on April 27, 2009

Lookee this: graffiti artist named Wataru, makes graffiti that only appears in flash photographs. The graffiti (denoted by a sign on the ground) makes a ring of arms around the subject like a multi-armed god...
posted by suedehead at 12:38 AM on April 28, 2009

Something about to eat the bystander's head whole. Bystander could be forcing the jaws apart. Like someone was sqeeeeshing their head.
A giant thumb & forefinger, squeeeeshing their head.
Villagers with pitchforks & torches coming out.
A real chair in front of slaves with fans & grapes.
An igloo & penguins, to stand in front of in summer clothes.
A desert & bright sun, to stand in front of in a coat.
posted by Pronoiac at 1:27 AM on April 28, 2009

Itchy & Scratchy / Tom & Jerry where the pursued hides behind the shrugging bystander, gesturing 'ssh!' at the camera.
posted by Pronoiac at 1:32 AM on April 28, 2009

Since you asked for images (and I can't help a little shameless self promotion): I took this.
posted by latentflip at 2:58 AM on April 28, 2009

In answer to "Has this ever been done before"-- it's not exactly the same, but the video for CSS's 'Move' (directed by Keith Schofield) plays with a similar idea.
posted by yankeefog at 4:44 AM on April 28, 2009

As another "has this been done before" answer, check out this video of Montreal 40c by Malajube.
posted by Grither at 5:05 AM on April 28, 2009

Response by poster: I should also point out that the intent would be to make the pedestrians look like they don't KNOW they're standing in front of the graffiti.

Please keep the answers coming, lots of good inspiration here!
posted by Bobby Bittman at 9:01 AM on April 28, 2009

Thought bubbles in Brooklyn
posted by brgale at 1:40 PM on April 28, 2009

The Shadow Project also in Brooklyn, oddly enough.
posted by Grither at 12:25 PM on April 29, 2009