How Many Billboards? in LA

Tags:: Design; Architecture; Culture

Considering what a blight billboards can be on the urban landscape--São Paulo banned them in 2007, as have states like Maine--especially in car-centric spot like Los Angeles, it's little surprise that the LA-based MAK Center for Art and Architecture decided it was time for a rethink. They wrangled 30-day billboard donations from five different companies and commissioned 21 artists to take over what is perhaps one of the mose exclusively commercial sites of public architecture we've got. I had a chat with MAK Center director and co-curator of How Many Billboards? Kimberli Meyer about the show, which is on now all over Los Angeles. Be sure to check out the slideshow to see pictures of various billboards in the show.

— Aaron Britt

Photographer James Welling's billboard, at La Brea Avenue south of the 10, suggests a fractured grid, canted city streets, and a fraying urban fabric. Photo by Patricia Parinejad.

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