I-10 billboard preaches anti-smog message

If you've noticed a particularly environmentally aware billboard along I-10 between Washington and TC Jester, you're probably not alone. This traffic-y area is a perfect place for the Watershed Public Art Project's anti-smog message, which comes in a particularly aesthetically pleasing form.

This billboard is aptly named "Not All Clouds Are" and was created by artist J. Antonio Farfan. Originally from Mexico, Farfan is a University of Houston graduate and has expressed his concern about air quality in Houston - a favorite topic here at Houstonist - through his art. In his artist's statement, Farfan said that he hopes "we will realize the constant change of all things, thereby neutralizing our own pre-conceptions" and that "this closer exploration will ultimately create a more compassionate and enlightened human race; one that is better able to understand others and the importance of our world, for now and for many years to come."

The Watershed Public Art Project debuted its first billboard in 2000, promoting the Art Car Museum. Since then, it has "provided an outdoor billboard venue for painters, writers, photographers, sculptors, musicians, dancers and arts organizations to present their work and promote their artistic or literary cause." Their purpose is to present art by Houston artists in an unlikely place and to furnish a knowledgebase for understanding outdoor media. They are not an expressly political organization, but some art, like Farfan's, has a political message. Last year, the same billboard had an anti-TXDoT message up on it. The initiative of some local residents, with support from Mayor White, to stop an exit ramp from being built over their neighborhood eventually caused the Department of Transportation to relent, proving that small measures can make a big difference.

We don't know about you, but Houstonist would definitely rather see thoughtful artwork than another advertisement for Carmen's when we're driving down the freeway. This billboard will be on display through next week.

Picture courtesy of www.watershedpublicart.org.