Art Everywhere

Robert Boyd

Art is everywhere. Even outside my bathroom window.



These billboards are barely visible through the tree branches outside my window. There's an image on the left-hand side of the right billboard. Here is what that image looks like without a bunch of leaves in front of it.


Erwin E. Smith, Frank Smith, Watering His Horse, Cross-B Ranch, Crosby County, Texas, c. 1909

It's part of a billboard art show called Art Everywhere. The project consists of 58 artworks put up around the country on a large number of billboards. There is a map showing where all the billboards are, but it's inaccurate--it doesn't show "my" billboard, which is on Fannin just south of Drew in Houston. Assuming the rest of the map is correct, you will be able to see several of the billboards around Houston in diverse locations (as well as all over the USA).

The earliest work in Art Everywhere is Watson and the Shark by John Singleton Copley, and the most recent is a Cindy Sherman photograph. Several artists have more than one piece--Winslow Homer, Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent and Georgia O'Keefe. There is a preference for representational work in the pieces chosen, but there are a few abstract paintings in the mix.

I vaguely knew this was happening, but it wasn't until I saw the billboard out my window that I realized it was happening now. You will be able to see these billboards through the month of August. Going on a long road-trip? Spotting the Art Everywhere billboards might help pass the time!