David Spear Image: Hand-Painted

A photo of a traffic signal box included in an Ann Arbor-based Arts Alliance information packet – as a part of a funding proposal for the PowerArt project – was inaccurately described by The Chronicle as an example of vinyl wrapping of signal boxes with artistic images. The funding proposal from the Arts Alliance – which was awarded with $20,500 each by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority and the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission – was for a project that would use vinyl wrapping.

According to the artist, David Spear, of Columbia, Missouri, the image used in the packet and extracted by The Chronicle shows a signal box that he hand-painted over the course of 56 hours starting on a Monday night and finishing that week on a Thursday afternoon. [.pdf of PowerArt proposal]

The Arts Alliance proposal was modeled on a traffic signal box art program in Boise, Idaho, which is described in the Arts Alliance proposal as using vinyl wraps. Rachel Reichert, who handles communications for the Boise City Department of Arts & History, confirmed for The Chronicle in a phone interview that the Boise program does, in fact, use vinyl wraps.

The Chronicle notes its mischaracterization of Spears’ work here and has corrected the description in the articles where the image appeared.