Artist's Prank Freeway Sign Helps Motorists Fri May 10, 8:51 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - For nine months not a single driver among the hundreds of thousands of motorists who daily ply downtown Los Angeles' main freeway noticed that there was something odd about the large, green sign guiding them through the complex and confusing transition from the Harbor Freeway onto California's Interstate 5.
It was a fake. But such a clever fake that not even Caltrans, the people responsible for the signs, realized it wasnot one of their own, but a hand-painted replica.
Created by Los Angeles artist and frustrated commuter Richard Ankrom as a benevolent gesture to guide motorists and to show that art has a legitimate place in society, the meticulously painted sign, embossed with tiny reflective buttons, embarrassed transportation officials who learned of it only in a local newspaper column.
Especially because Ankrom installed it in broad daylight, dressed as a blue-collar worker in a hard hat and orange vest, and had friends videotape the entire process, according to a report published Thursday in the Los Angeles Times.
A spokesman for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) was not immediately available for comment.
For now, transportation officials will leave the sign where it is, and will not press charges against Ankrom, the Times reported. But they may replace the sign in a few months as part of a program to retrofit all freeway signs with new more reflective models.
The artist, who moonlights as a freelance sign maker, came up with the idea for the sign three years ago while often getting lost trying to locate the right exit ramp to I-5.
Rather than lodge a complaint with transportation officials he simply designed a sign guiding motorists north. "It needed to be done," he told the paper. "It's not like it was something that was intentionally wrong.
The artist added that he would prefer that Caltrans return his work if they decide not to use it.
Posted by John Cordova (Member # 220) on :
That's great! Do you have a pic? Exactly what did it say?
Posted by Stephen Deveau (Member # 1305) on :
Scooter
Do you have any pictures of this as this is the second posting about this Gentleman...
I like to see the hoopla!
It may work here in (Nova Scotia,) (Canada)) as well because of Poor Directional Signs!!!!!! Posted by Steve Barba (Member # 431) on :
That story was on Good Morning America this morning. They showed video tape of him putting up the fake sign.
Posted by TransLab (Member # 470) on :
L.A Times story here
L .A .TIMES Posted by Mark Fair Signs (Member # 289) on :
i saw the same story on the news. he desribes the act as performance art.
all i can say is if he had real balls, he would have pounced a pattern and hand lettered that sucker with a 1" fitch, and filled in with a 3" bulletin.
(sorry, reverting back to my days as a billboard painter!)
bubba
Posted by AdrienneMorgan (Member # 1046) on :
Watched it on the news tonight....he did everything to the specifications of Cal Trans...even Cal Trans said he did a fantastic job......then they ended with how Cal Trans plans on replacing the sign with a 'real' one soon!!!
HA!!!!! It IS real!!!!!They just didn't want to admit he did it right.
Just so cool to hear a report about a signpainter in the news!!!
A:)
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
back in jun-dec 1980 i was still living in penna. had bought a 76 dodge motorhome and was planing on leaving for fla in jan 81 anyway. well sept/oct the state inspection ran out. rather then go get it inspected i went and bought some permanent markers, some good paper and a glue stick. drew and colored me a sticker!!!!!!!! and the best part was i got stopped one day by a state trooper....who looked right at it ....and never seen that it was a fake!!!!!!
[ May 13, 2002, 03:26 AM: Message edited by: old paint ]
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
OP, with skills like that you could put in some "time" making automotive license plates!
Posted by taurus signcraft (Member # 572) on :
been tempted to do the same thing out front of my shop everyday there are more and more ppl coming in to ask for directions
great idea i think
cheers gail
Posted by Jerry Hudson (Member # 1995) on :
I did some freelance work with Rick about 20 years ago in the old "City Sign" in Costa Mesa, Ca. Mr. Ankrom was quite a character as a recall and if he would have done something like that then, none of us working with him would have been surprised. Glad to see he's still enjoying the craft.
Posted by Jillbeans (Member # 1912) on :
Hey! I thought you were talking about that explosion in NYC a few weeks back-you could see a "SIGNS" sign on the gutted building. Then I thought mebbe you were talking about something Fiddles told me yesterday- did you know that Woody Guthrie was once a sign painter? What a cool idea, the guy really did have guts too. I was gonna do something like that out by my driveway, a "Watch Children" type thing (don't like the sound of "slow children" cuz I live on a major highway. (in PA, old paint, complete with potholes) Love- JILL
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