The Impact of Art on LA Freeways: Richard Ankrom's Bold Move

If you've never been on one, an LA freeway is a decent analogy for modern life—it's messy, congested, and somehow, everyone is traveling too slowly while simultaneously moving very quickly.

Hanging like a full moon above this chaos, freeway signs serve as cautionary tales. You've got sarcasm with "Expect Delays," your "Exit Only" for those existential crises at the roadside, and "Merge with Caution"—which should really be hung inside the doors of everyone’s homes if you ask me. In Los Angeles, road work feels more like a life goal than a public works project with an actual start and finish date.

This all began in Los Angeles, circa 2001, a city where cars were everywhere, but guidance was not.

The Artist's Unexpected Influence

You wouldn't expect an artist to have much impact in such a place. However, Richard Ankrom, an artist and painter, had a plan so bold it could only stem from utter rebellion—and perhaps, a bit of unrequited road rage. Just saying.

On a sunny LA morning, Ankrom became fed up with a missing freeway exit that appeared so suddenly that most drivers lacked enough warning to change lanes before it was behind them. Unmarked, it had become infamous, much like the headless Hessian soldier roaming around Sleepy Hollow at night—a ghost exit, a zombie that haunted drivers.

Ankrom had experienced that heart-stopping ghost exit himself and heard about it from other frustrated drivers for years. While there aren't ironclad statistics supporting this, it's clear that many artists tend to be a bit... countercultural, often taking matters into their own hands. And, as we all know, not all heroes wear capes—some appear in hard hats, reflective vests, and, yes, carrying a homemade freeway sign.

The Sign That Changed Everything

This endeavor was not a trivial task. Overhead exit signs in America are about 8 to 12 feet long and 4 to 6 feet tall—roughly the height of a grown man and the length of a bull shark. Even made from lightweight aluminum, these signs weigh between 50-150 pounds or more.

Ankrom was that kind of done with the confusion. In an act of outrageous creativity, he crafted a sign so beautiful, so perfect, and so exceptionally green that even the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) would blush.

The traffic report is smoggy with an excellent chance of impetigo.

His sign wasn’t merely painted; it was a masterpiece of meticulous color matching, font replication, and pure audacity. That day, he was not just creating art; he was making a point.

The Great Installation

Dressed as a Caltrans worker, Ankrom ascended the heights of the 110 Freeway, near the interchange with the I-5 North, and installed la pièce de résistance. Below, cars sped by—drivers sometimes losing their minds as they missed the zombie exit, oblivious to the high-stakes art installation unfolding above them.

Ankrom was effectively a determined painkiller. He had experience with signs, officially, so his installation went off without a hitch. After completing his mission, he sat back and awaited discovery.

Waiting for Recognition

He waited. And waited. For weeks, he observed traffic sorting itself out, noticing his highly illegal yet technically perfect sign benefiting the commute. Eventually, he realized he was good—too good. He had gotten away with it.

It took months before anyone realized this sign wasn't government-sanctioned.

The truth was revealed thanks to a strategically leaked video by Ankrom himself. It tickled the public pink, which is not the usual outcome when an artist defaces public property.

Helpful ways to pass time in your LA commute....

Sweet Infamy and Lasting Impact

For a time, news outlets across the nation couldn’t get enough of the artist who cleverly tricked a city's transport authority with nothing but his skills and a can-do attitude.

Caltrans’ reaction was surprisingly relaxed. Or maybe not. It is LA, after all. They appreciated Ankrom's craftsmanship so much that they left the sign bolted down where it had been installed. It was, after all, precisely what drivers needed.

When the freeway signs were eventually updated, Caltrans retained Ankrom’s modification to the traffic flow. We call that 'a testament to the impact of well-placed art on people's lives,' even if the piece wasn’t officially commissioned—as they say.

Ankrom's story of artsy sign-making is now legendary, serving as an excellent example of guerrilla art as a public service. Fellow artists can learn that, sometimes, to make a difference, you’ve got to break a few rules with your art.

Ultimately, the freeway sign isn't just a work of art; it has become a symbol of innovation in urban spaces, highlighting the significant role that creativity and courage play in our lives. Perhaps the lesson we can take from Ankrom's adventure is that sometimes, you need to merge with caution when navigating your own creativity and the challenges of life.

A girl could break a nail, after all. 😉