My Neighborhood Graffitti Artist

The exit off the 55 freeway to my house has two giant billboards. There had been a multitude of various advertisements plastered up there. Mostly for Vitamin Water, Coke, and various B-movies. Most of these billboards end up with all kinds of tagging and graffitti. They are quickly changed out and removed within a day or two. But lately, there has been a graffitti artist who is so subtle with his graffitti and tags that it goes unoticed by whoever it is that would order the billboard removed once it has been tagged. I have started noticing the billboard now, looking for new "improvements" to the ads on the giant billboards.

The best one and my favorite is the latest installemnent. The two billboards went up about a month ago, advertisements for the Adult Porn Conventions. I was disgusted to see a blonde chic in a provocative pose with her mouth open plastered twice on ajoining billboards in my neighborhood. The ad is placed so I have to see it coming and going from my house. It is so gross and annoying. But now, the cleaver artist has made the woman look as if she has been shot in the head! There is no tagging or other evident typical graffitti on the board, just a bloody hole in her forehead. I was cracking up when I saw it! The billboard has been there for almost a month! I'm sure everyone in our neighborhood hated the origional ad. Who wants an ad for Porn in their neighborhood? Where I live is families and old people, most definately not the ideal audience or consumers targeted for the porn convention. But I bet my fellow neighbors chuckled at the graffitti artist addition to the add.

I wish I were able to get a photo of it, but every time I try I'm never at the stop light long enough to get out my camera.

Other installements that have been improved have been making Ellen Degeneres' ad for Vitamin water into a graphic art-like piece with all kinds of dots and colors. It looked great and actually as if it were meant to be the ad. The one stayed for about a week before being replaced by a horrific ad for Knott's Scary Farm. My daughter had to hide her eyes every time we drove past because it was so ugly. I wish the artist would have done something with that one. Another one was altered for the better in my opinion was the basketball player making a slam dunk. The artist tagged over the Sprite logo. I think it said "douche" but I couldn't be sure. My husband, who follows basketball said it did. That billboard was removed in the next couple days also.

I usually hate all these ugly ads that have gone up in our neighborhood, but now I actually like them. I hope the advertisers continue to fuel the artist with all kinds of crap and drivel so the artist whoever he or she may be can create entertaining peices for me to enjoy.