Street artist gets cheeky with ‘No Kardashian parking’ signs
"No Kardashian Parking Anytime" is the latest parking directive to join the glut posted on dense L.A. streets.
Street artist Plastic Jesus, who gained notoriety after installing an oversized drug-injecting Oscar-style statue near the Dolby Theatre ahead of this year's Academy Awards, has taken aim at Kourtney, Kim and Khloe Kardashian and their "kult" by posting the signs all over the city.
The first official-looking sign cropped up as long as four weeks ago, and one was even placed in front of the reality stars' Dash shop on Melrose. Others were erected near hot spots the Ivy restaurant, Urban Outfitters and Cecconi's restaurant in West Hollywood.
PHOTOS: Meet the Kardashians and their extended family
"I suppose it's a protest at the obsession with the Kardashians and every kind of move they make," the U.K. artist told LA Weekly. "Their lunch outings and shopping trips are media events in themselves. What can be fascinating about someone pumping gas?"
Plastic Jesus told the BBC the inspiration came from a traffic hold-up caused by a paparazzo scrum when one of the famous sisters was leaving a shop.
"There is gridlock caused whenever one of the Kardashian family do simple basic things, shopping, eating out or pumping gas," said the artist, who has been styled as the "Banksy of L.A." "The Kardashians have become a media cultural phenomenon, sadly at the expense of real news."
However, the famous family isn't the only target of his commentary: His latest creation is also a criticism of "us, both the media and the consumer," he said.
"Media is circulation-driven, or more recently by hits on websites. Without our unending desire to consume this content this will continue," he told the Beeb.
"'Stop Making Stupid People Famous' gets blogged as a criticism of the #Kardashians 'But that piece is meant to criticize us as consumers," he added on Twitter.
The signs, which can easily be mistaken as official among the city's slew of parking signs, are considered vandalism by the LAPD. But Plastic Jesus said they're intended as "a temporary installation" and will probably be removed soon.
"You'd better grab yourself a no #kardashian parking sign quickly. They're coming down in the morning," the artist tweeted late Tuesday.
The social media-savvy family has not publicly commented on the installations.
Follow me on Twitter @NardineSaad.
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