Artist and writer Austin Kleon has a new project in which he adapts his visual poetry to a new format: road and street signs. He dubs them De-signs (get it), and defines them as:
de-Signs = iPhone photos of signs with some of the words erased.
Simple enough. And amazing.
Signs, generally, are intended to help people, provide information, or make special requests. While most of us go through the streets noticing them, yielding to their advice when necessary, a few enterprising individuals, armed with art supplies, see a different take...another option, if you will.
This morning, we're totally inspired by "Your Message Here," an ever-changing mobile art project that brings beauty to the words of the masses.
Created by Shauna and Stephen of my new favorite blog, "Something's Hiding in Here," "Your Message Here" is a wooden marquee sign that moves from store window to sidewalk to the middle of nowhere, and includes a new, simple saying wherever it lands. The work was "inspired by industrial letter signs, multi colored text, and everyday sayings," and it nails each of those on every account.
And the best part? The pair has included step-by-step photos of their building the whole thing from scratch, including creating the basic frame from wood, installing the lights, and adding the vinyl (?) letters to the wooden blanks.
So...I'm pretty sure this is illegal in every state, but art is supposed to be edgy, and playing with imagery as recognizable as the most common of street signs is pretty effective. As the mind behind StopSignArt says "Because I have a digital camera and bandwidth, and Seattle has a lot of stop signs."
And whether you agree with the act or not, you can't help but be amused and challenged by this collection of stop sign additions assembled by DamnCoolPics.
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