Third Ward Billboard, 2004

Steel, paint and image printed on vinyl. h.14’, w.12’, d.12” 

I fabricated and installed a billboard structure at Project Row Houses’ Dupree Sculpture Park (Project Row Houses is located in Houston’s Historic Third Ward, one of the city’s oldest African-American neighborhoods. The site encompasses five city blocks and houses 39 structures that serve as a home base to a variety of community-enriching initiatives, art programs, and neighborhood development activities).

The first image installed on the billboard structure was a photo I took of three frequent park goers. Following, it became a rotating billboard for community use. For example, it was the site of a family portrait; a place to recognize two members of the new Black Panther Party in Houston, and held an “ad” sponsored by a sustainability awareness organization. It also housed an ad for The Menil Collection, featuring a detailed image of a Luc Tuymans’ painting. A neighborhood resident anonymously installed a counter billboard, featuring Tupac Shakur, whose expression mimicked the one found in the painting.