posted
a friend sent this to me, so i'm sharing it.
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.
-------------------- :: Scooter Marriner :: :: Coyote Signs :: :: Oakland, CA :: :: still a beginner :: :: Posts: 1356 | From: Oakland (and San Francisco) | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
That's great! Do you have a pic? Exactly what did it say?
-------------------- John Cordova Gitano Design Studio Albuquerque, NM Posts: 268 | From: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
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!)
posted
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!!!
posted
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 ]
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
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.
-------------------- Jerry Hudson J.R.Design 4260 Green Ave. Los Alamitos, CA 90720 Posts: 103 | From: Los Alamitos, CA,USA | Registered: Feb 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
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
-------------------- That is like a Mr. Potato Head with all the pieces in the wrong place. -Russ McMullin Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
| IP: Logged |
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic