THE BILLBOARD EXPERIMENT 2008

This renegade billboard was installed oct 18, 2008, on my property in Cabbagetown. I did this as a response to the massive graffiti wall across the street, which was “cleaned” away by a small group of neighbors.

Friend and artist Naz collaborated with me to build a simple and inexpensive billboard for public expression. (Thank you Louis Corrigan!)

Without needing to go through any major red tape and without permission of the historic neighborhood association, we decorated my house with temporary public art that expressed the melancholy mood of “Everything Disappears!” that year a tornado had hit our area very badly, and the image spoke in an abstract way to the loss of that storm.

8am turned out to be my favorite time to see the billboard. . .the light from the back illuminated the structure very nicely.

Despite doubts about it's legality, the billboard stayed for months. The neighbors loved it. They wrote an article about it in the newsletter. . .

During the opening performance of “Everything Disappears,” I commanded an audience member to spraypaint the words on the infamously guarded graffiti wall. . .The person who did the spray-painting happens to be a spelling bee champion. . .and yet he was so nervous, he misspelled. . . I rather like his mistake: “EVER-THING”. . .(sounds like a southern accent).

Three weeks later it was erased by the cleaners.