New York taxis will become mobile public art next month when their rooftop ad boards display works by
Shirin Neshat, Alex Katz and Yoko Ono (left to right). [Credit: Show Media and Art Production Fund.]
Shirin Neshat, Alex Katz and Yoko Ono (left to right). [Credit: Show Media and Art Production Fund.]
NEW YORK — TAXI! The next time you're waiting around for a cab in New York City, take a closer look at the top of the yellow taxis. Why? Because throughout the month of January, the rooftops of the cabs (the so-called cones) that are normally filled with advertisements will display works of modern art designed by Yoko Ono, Alex Katz and Shirin Neshat.
The Art Adds project (pun intended) is the idea of Show Media, a Las Vegas company that sells advertising on cabs around the city. Surprisingly, the company is choosing to institute a plan that will actually cost it about $100,000 in lost revenue. John Amato, one of Show Media's owners explained, “I thought it was time to take a step back. January’s a slow month. I could have cut my rates but instead I decided to hit the mute button and give something back to the city.”
Three New Yorkers - Ono, Katz and Neshat - were chosen by the Art Production Fund, a nonprofit New York organization to create the 14"x48" designs that will appear on as many as 500 taxicabs. Ono's original art is based on "The War Is Over," the famous slogan she and John Lennon
once used to promote peace. “It’s almost like a dance,” she said about her design, “the way the message is always in motion.”
once used to promote peace. “It’s almost like a dance,” she said about her design, “the way the message is always in motion.”___________________________________________________________
[Read More: Soon You Can Hail an Artist as You Hail a Cab | The New York Times]
