The tops of 500 New York City taxis are about to become an art exhibit on wheels. Throughout January, the Las Vegas-based company that owns about half of the city's taxi-top ads will install 14- by 48-inch artworks by Shirin Neshat, Alex Katz, and Yoko Ono above cabs, the Times reports.
Though the project will cost the company $100,000 in lost revenue, according to 1010WINS, it comes at a time when the economy is bad and ad sales are typically slow. "I thought it was time to take a step back. January’s a slow month. I could have cut my rates but instead I decided to hit the mute button and give something back to the city," said John Amato, one of the owners of Show Media and a fan of contemporary art. Next time, maybe they’ll put some ad-free video art on those backseat TV screens.
