inspiration, etc...: The Billboard Art Project in Duluth, MN: some of my images projected, some not

Thursday, September 8, 2011

The Billboard Art Project in Duluth, MN: some of my images projected, some not

For the Duluth Billboard Art Project, the participating artists knew the billboard would be near a forest. My idea was to use warning signs on the billboard using strange messages related to the presence of the forest: "Caution! Fairies", "Big Bad Wolf lurking", "Beware", "Wizards Crossing Ahead", "Deer in the Headlights"- or making a poetic link with the place: "No Man's Land", "Here", "Nowhere", "There", "Black Hole", "Grey Area", "Complicated Zone". Also, a few of the signs were incomprehensible ones, as if the sign was not working.I even asked the BAP if it would be possible to have the image being shown around dusk to emphasize the strangeness.

The images could not be used because they are playing off of cautionary road signs, and replicating the visual effect is against of department of transportation regulations as it may confuse the driver. I understand their position. Several of the series I proposed to the BAP since the beginning of my participation play with ambiguity. And although I am trying to stay in a zone where my images would not be rejected, I know I am walking a fine line.

For example, when I started the series, one of the images I created was "Checkpoint Ahead" and I knew right away that this could be a problem. It is a stressful message to read on a billboard which completely resembles a warning sign. I thought working more with strange and surprising message, like "Black Hole", and not playing with a stressful content.

If I can obtain permission from the local department of transportation in one of the upcoming shows, I will re-submit the images for that particular venue. I may change them a little, I will find a way.

Here are some faux-montage (from a BAP photo) of the images as they could have appeared on the road in Duluth:

My series "Mileage to" continues
After Savannah, GA, here is the billboard in Duluth, MN, with the distances between Duluth and towns North Africa and Middle East: Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Bahrain, Syria, Tunisia, Palestine, Israel,Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon. It's interesting to see the series in another town, with the mileage slightly changing. I am finding different ways to write the names of some of the towns when I check on the maps on internet. Misurata in Libya is used as much as Misrata so I decided to use them both.