Ballsy Protest: Art as Communication?

Or is it guerrilla marketing? You decide. Gaetano Cecchini was at it again this past week in Rome. No, it's not a Sony Bravia commercial, it was Mr Cecchini's protest -- an artistic gesture to demonstrate the problems in Italy. "To do so, I used art," he said, "Both the Left and the Right are telling us so many lies and I and the Italians have had enough. They have broken our balls and hence this live art display."

Many of the people who were there collected the balls as souvenirs. You can see some in the video below. If they haven't found their way onto eBay, they will soon. While the passers by were mostly amused, authorities were only half smiling. The other half was busy arresting Cecchini. I saw different reports on the cost of this stunt -- anywhere from 14,000 to 15,000 Euros.

I was in Rome this past December during the holidays and I can tell you that the most difficult feat is finding those steps not covered with people. I wanted to take a photo and just couldn't. Here you see them as cleaning crews are removing the balls. [AP Photo/Andrew Medichini]

Cecchini poured half a million brightly colored rubber balls down the steps.

This was not the first time Cecchini pulled such a stunt. A few short months ago, he poured red paint in the Trevi fountain.

The fountain looked none for the wear when I saw it, yet I'm sure that the city of Rome did not enjoy the work and cost of clearing out the bright red water. Was this art as communication, was it guerrilla marketing used to further a message? What do you think?

UPDATE: I've received some great feedback to this post and admittedly my question was pushing definitions. If you have time, go dig in the comments here, some very good thoughts.

Comments

[Carolyn Ann]

Balls in the square? That's a protest. Red paint in the Trevi Fountain? That's vandalism.

The balls have no lasting impact on the locality; like a peaceful protest, they're here and gone - having made their impression, they depart. The red paint stunt (I recall reading about it) isn't like washing powder in a fountain - it's an act of pure vandalism. He might as well have sprayed red paint onto it.

He thinks he's challenging the politicians, and using the province of free expression to do so. But he's ignoring one fundamental issue: his right to free expression doesn't include the potential destruction of others' property. That the fountain is none the worse is neither here nor there - in pouring the paint into it, he created a situation that had great potential for destruction.

The balls, on the other hand, they are perfectly within the realms of free expression. It's fairly original (not totally original, but not too bad, given the context), and it's non-destructive. It also inconveniences many, which is to be expected - the protest no one notices is hardly worth holding.

But neither act is guerilla marketing. One is using art to communicate, the other, well, as I said: it's just vandalism.

Carolyn Ann

[Karen Hegmann]

Valeria

Interesting video and pics.
Like Carolyn Ann, I have a problem when voicing one's opinion interferes with someone else's property and ability to just "enjoy the day."

Personally, if I was the woman on those steps, the sight of all those balls would probably have freaked me out.

Rather than guerilla marketing, I would call it "bully marketing." Although it seems Cecchini's intentions are noble, his methods are not.

[Valeria Maltoni]

The real challenge would be to make a point in a way that furthers the conversation.

What was the outcome of the actions? Sure people talked about the stunts, the media published about it (just like I did here), city officials had to pay attention.

Did anyone *do* anything different after learning about the reasons for the protest?

I hear you both, Carolyn Ann and Karen, about the vandalism and bully tactic.

[Brian Monahan]

I think both are acts of vandalism. They both come with a cost to somebody else.

However, I can live with the rubber balls demonstration as not being a defacing of property as Carolyn Ann mentions.

Definitely not guerrilla marketing in my eyes.

I don't think it sets up a good precedence for sharing your ideas at the expense of others.

In the end I am no more interested in the trash problem in Naples but now have a new problem in what I am going to call "Graffiti Marketing."

[Carolyn Ann]

Well, the serious protester never expects things to change after a protest - only the amateur maintains that illusion.

Protest long enough, and with enough conviction - and you might change some minds. Keep at it, and eventually you might even get noticed. Today, there's a preference for "instant notice" - if you don't get your assured 15 minutes within the first hour, something went seriously wrong with the world. (I haven't noticed any especial preference for honesty from the potentially famous.)

Changing the world is a one-step at a time task. Apparently, this guy was dim enough to think he could produce massive change with a single act. A single, very obscure, act. By taking the lexicon of modern art, including the ideas behind some installed pieces, he figured that either he would get to produce his protest; at the very least - he would be noticed. But what actually happens is that everyone remembers the balls, forgets his name and can't even begin to fathom the logic behind his protest and the balls.

The fountain thing just looks like he's performing the public and just as childish act as holding his breath until he turns blue! (That being said, I wish he'd done that - we'd all be happy when he finally passed out and stopped bothering us.)

Vandalism is an incredibly lazy form of expression. The impression I get is that the artist is not just lazy, but incredibly derivative, as well. So what if no one else has thought to pepper a public square with balloons? That doesn't make it original! This is something forgotten by too many; the roots for it lie within installation and modern art - as I've said. Heck, wrapping the Reichstag in paper would be more original. At least that demands some attention, and asks questions about form, light, structure. Balls in a public square? They pose no question, except "why did the artist think he was quite that important?"

Sorry, I've a lot more rant in me, but I'll stop now. :-)

Carolyn Ann

[Valeria Maltoni]

That's why the best part of these posts are your comments.

@Brian -- My question on guerrilla marketing was admittedly pushing it, but the guy thinks what he does is art -- expensive art, intrusive stuff. You came up with a good definition, although I think it was not called that way, graffiti was always intended as a form of protest to affirm "I exist" and "I don't care about this space". The worst are in public rest rooms, still.

@Carolyn Ann -- "So what if no one else has thought to pepper a public square with balloons? That doesn't make it original!" well put. Instant notice is several years in the making, or it should be. Also, I do wonder if attempts where made through channels, although having lived in Italy, I can tell you that as beautiful the country and people are, as difficult politics and economics are.

[gianandrea]

I'm dissenting from some of the opinion read over.
First, we are the nation where futurists were born and the guy is making reference to them for his action.
Second, no damage were done to person or monuments or things around his acts.
Third, one think is to imagine to do something, a totally different stuff is doing it.

He doesn't think to change the world in one single act, but he is trying to make himself heard and give voice to the thousands without voice.

We sometimes forget that the world outside the screen of our computers is tough and there are millions of people and animals without a speaker: so to me anybody willing to take this charge on him/her is welcome.

Maybe nothing will change now, but at least it is worth trying.
Better than chat for days.

[Valeria Maltoni]

While I understand where you're coming from with your support of the vision and artistic means, I have to disagree on certain forms of activism. I do not condone abuse or violence even when in defense of great ideals -- not saying it is the case here, but you brought up animals without a spokesperson...

I prefer action to chatting, too. Preferably giving a helping hand, being the change I'd like to see in the world.