Los Angeles conceptual artist Plastic Jesus, commenting on celebrity and consumer culture, has placed several signs on city streets reading “No Kardashian Parking Any Time.”
“The Kardashian family has become ingrained in our culture,” the anonymous artist, who styles himself “the Banksy of L.A.,” told The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday. “We’ve allowed mainstream media to become so profit-driven, we are sacrificing genuine news stories to satiate our vapid celebrity obsessions.”
Seven signs have sprung up in locations including near the Kardashian’s Dash clothing boutique, on Robertson Boulevard near the well-known restaurant Ivy, and along Melrose Avenue.
The artist noted that the phrase “Stop Making Stupid People Famous” often “gets blogged as a criticism of the Kardashians. But that [phrase] is also meant to criticize us as consumers. Without us, there would be no market for the Kardashians. We are equally, if not more so, to blame.” He added, “The same people who will tag these parking signs on social media are the same people who will buy [the tabloid magazine] In Touch at the supermarket later this week.”
A Los Angeles Police Department representative told the magazine no complaints have yet been filed about the signs, which violate vandalism statutes.
The artist’s website notes, “His street art is only left in place for a limited time and then removed. Any damage to the urban environment is avoided and limited as far as possible.”
