ARTIST TURNS BILLBOARDS INTO URBAN CLOUD FORESTS

Making something beautiful out of a bad situation lifts us higher on so many levels. Artist, Stephen Glassman, takes it a few steps further. He started in the 1990’s when he transformed sites devastated by violence, like the Rodney King incident, or natural disaster, like the Malibu fires and the Northridge Quake, by installing beautiful large-scale bamboo sculptures. Now the Los Angeles based artist is tackling the urban blight of billboards and air pollution with his new project, Urban Air. Once he secures the rights to a billboard, he removes its advertising and underlying infrastructure. Then he installs a living, breathing, green sculpture made of bamboo. He includes a discreet irrigation system to maintain the plants, and a water mister which keeps it hydrated. So, the next time you are stuck in infuriating traffic in L.A., look up and you may see see art, a burst of fresh air and relief from noisy ugly parts of city life.

Check out Urban Air. You’ll be inspired. And you can help it grow.