Startling Street Art Hangs from Two Las Vegas Billboards

Tags: Controversy, Occupy Wall Street, Political Art, Street Art

By dawn, concerned commuters were calling 911. Two billboards along a busy highway in Las Vegas showed hanging mannequins beneath scrawled words “Dying For Work” and “Hope You’re Happy Wall St,” expressions of discontent at the country’s current economic crisis.

Many motorists feared the billboards weren’t guerilla artwork, but real suicides.

Authorities responded quickly to take down the billboards, removing the mannequins and the lettering. Nevada highway patrol Jeremie Elliott told the AP, “It’s a publicity stunt, obviously done in bad taste.”

While no one has claimed responsibility for the graffiti art, pictures were posted to the Occupy Las Vegas website with current suicide rates and figures of unemployment. The post reads:

“Nevada has the highest sustained unemployment of any state in the U.S., with almost no real hope in sight and politicians more concerned with corporate campaign donations than they are helping the middle class and poor.”

A spokesman for Clear Channel Outdoor, the owner of one of the billboards, told the AP:

“We condemn the destructive behavior against one of our billboards because it is illegal and punishes our advertisers. This is not an innocent protest, but it is illegal and dangerous behavior that Clear Channel Outdoor and the industry will not accept.”

[via Huffington Post]

Photo courtesy of Occupy Las Vegas