I have this problem. Often, my mind goes so quickly and is so busy talking to itself that I am often not paying attention to physical things I am doing like where I put my keys, or why I took my computer home but left the charger in my office, or why I put the dog leash inside the half eaten Dorito's bag in the pantry.
It is very easy in the mundane and banal to loose focus and not pay attention to little things. I find this is also the case when I drive a familiar route. I arrive at work without any recollection of what happened between getting my car and looking for my office keys. Sometimes I notice something new. Perhaps a new building, a new restaurant, a new business, road construction, and sometimes a new sign. I10 is a relatively uneventful drive.
However, let's talk about 45 N. A serious case of visual pollution by the overcrowding if billboards, my drive to the airport sometimes is so "screaming loud" and somewhat embarrassing. I often wonder what people's first impressions are of Houston. I have come to love this city, act as a protector of those who bash it.
Inbound: Houston, a project of Karyn Olivier, artist-in-residence at the Cynthia Woods Mitchel Center for the Arts will replace 13 advertising billboards along the city's downtown major highways with urban landscape in an effort to make them disappear. I have to admit, when I saw the photography of the installed billboards, it was almost like a game of where is Waldo. Here is what I mean:
I had the opportunity to hear artist Karyn Olivier at Spacetaker's Artist SPEAKeasy via skype from New York. Her energy was contagious as she told the curious story of how the project was spun to ensure it was not presented as a anti-billboard campaign, but rather as a creative use of an established frame that could be used for other objectives than traditional advertising. Ever been curious as to what is behind these billboards. To track the project, click here for Karyn's blog. Although I am not certain I would call this type of work surrealism, the Douglas Britt's article in the Houston Chronicle explains more. The project was supposed to be unveiled today, but due to inclement weather, it is now scheduled for tomorrow morning. Would you like to meet the artist? There is a reception an artist talk at Diverseworks from 6-8 pm tonight, Monday, October 26th.
In addition, the Mitchell Center commissioned a soundtrack of original works inspired by the billboards from UH Moores School of Music composers Joel Love and Paul Wadle and recorded by Aura, the school's contemporary ensemble. The works will debut at 7:30 tonight and will be available as a podcast download at KUHF.
As I look at these photographs, I am amazed at the complexity of urban landscape. I have to admit, some took me a while to figure out exactly where the billboard stood. Can you see them?
