Sign
/sīn/
noun
1. an object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else.
2. a gesture or action used to convey information or instructions.
I’ve moved 5 times in the past 4 years. Two of those moves were fewer than 10 miles. But the last one was 1,878 miles. Regardless of distance, a new neighborhood demands that you learn new rules, new routines, and a new sense of familiarity. I prefer to explore on foot, or bicycle. So when I arrived in Colorado, I took to the streets as much as possible, without a car. What I noticed were a lot of signs I had never seen before. I started taking pictures of signs and was reminded of my father, who also took pictures of signs. So many that when we’d return from vacation, and he turned our photographs into a slide-show, as one did in the 1980s, my mother would be so embarrassed. “Why did you take so many pictures of signs?” She’d ask. Now I get it. Like seeing a new language. A farmer/tractor sign. A sign about what bait can be used. A sign about rattlesnakes. And on and on. Most of these signs were easy enough to interpret; but some of them left me baffled. Clearly this is a warning, but for what? The other thing that I enjoy about exploring on foot or bike, is that my mind wanders freely. I started imagining outlandish versions of the signs that I didn’t understand. I started leaking one translation into another, until I was left with ridiculous—sometimes very personal—ideas of what each sign meant.
If you're in the Upper Arkansas River Valley of Colorado, stop by!
Watershed Project Number One: "Point of Interest" by Micah Ling
410 E Main Street, Buena Vista, CO
OPEN HOUSE: 5-8pm, Saturday, August 13th. Interactive! Stop by to add your translation!
Official launch: September 10, 2016