In a period of three months Jet + Rubble applied approximately 2,000 of their signature eyes on the likes of overexposed celebs including Jennifer Lopez, Pamela Anderson and her impossibly hung ex-husband, Tommy Lee. The stickers were a response to an explosion of new ads for celebrity based gossip shows on VH1 and E! Entertainment. “There is just so much advertising that you just have to react to it,” says Jet. “They try and sell Jennifer Lopez as the sexiest woman on earth, well look at her now! It’s goofy! It takes all the seriousness out of the ad and it shows that what they are selling you is ridiculous!” “It was meant to snap people out of the trance they in as they are going to the subway or the bodega,” ads Rubble. “The irony is that most of the posters of advertisements put up around the city are illegal and the act of altering them in anyway is illegal as well.”

Of equal importance to Jet + Rubble’s efforts on the street is their gallery work. In fact, what ends up in the galleries has usually been executed on the streets first. Their subject matter consists of imagery that deals with contradictions; celebrities and disposed of cigarette boxes, airplanes and lost car keys, dollar bills and broken sunglasses.

One of their more intense images is that of a gun with the barrel pointing back towards the person holding it. “People hate that image. The irony is that it is not meant to be a violent image but people assume it’s a gun so it must be bad,” says Rubble. The image is meant to be more an expression of Karma, that what you put out comes back to you. It’s very clever if not somewhat disturbing and when the image is put up on the streets, it is usually ripped down almost immediately.

The irony to all of this is that Jet + Rubble do not fit the stereotype of what most would consider vandals. They are very friendly and authentic in their conversation and at times remind you of your friends who studied hard in school, not the older brother huffing spray paint and wrecking his Trans-Am. “We don’t take ourselves that seriously. We’re not trying to make some profound statement with our work. Smiling is a huge part of our work.”

On The Web | www.jetandrubble.com