The New Artist "Bugsy" Has An Excellent Solution To Potholes

An example of "Bugsy's" pothole art in Spilsby, Lincolnshire, England

It's winter, and the escalating season of potholes on the streets is upon us. It will only get worse, much worse, as we move toward the freeze/thaw cycles of late winter and early spring.

The potholes wreck our tires, our suspensions and our patience.  Often, it seems, the people who are supposed to fix the potholes have a laissez faire attitude toward fixing them.

This might not be fair, though, because these potholes have a habit of reappearing seemingly minutes after being fixes.

Still, it's a problem for a lot of us motorists. Including one Karan Holland of Spilsby, Lincolnshire, England.

As Holland told the BBC:

"'On Friday night I was going along and hit a pothole which burst my tyre,' Ms Holland said. 'I took it to the tyre place on Saturday and (about $69 in U.S. equivalent dollars) I decided I'd had enough.'"

By enough, she meant she turned herself into a street artist. Which makes her one of my new favorite people. (By the way, I like how the British spell "tire" as "tyre." I like their way better).

More examples of "Bugsy's" pothole artwork 

She decided to spray paint images of bugs, yes, insects around the pot holes on her local streets. I admit, and so does Holland, that the pot hole bugs on Spilsby, Lincolnshire roads may not look like the work of an art major, but I do love them. You can see for yourself in the photos in this post.

The fact that it's a public service makes the bug idea a winner. "If I can save people from getting a bill like I did then it's worth it," Holland said.

The bug images, though crudely drawn, do give people a fair warning about the potholes. People in the area have taken to calling Holland "Bugsy" a play on "Banksy" the anonymous but celebrated street artist.

"Bugsy" kind of reminds of me of the famous "Pothole Bandit" in Burlington, Vermont, back in the 1980s who planted evergreen trees in some of the city's biggest potholes as a protest.

Back in Spisby, the Lincolnshire County Council is not amused by Holland's artwork. Says the BBC:

"In response, Richard Davis, executive member for highways at the council said, 'We appreciate potholes as a bugbear, but artistic acts such as this will actually slow us down when it comes to repairing them, as crews have to spend time cleaning the road."

Maybe, but Bugsy's artwork might inspire the council to fix the potholes before the artist can get to these buggy hazards.

As Pothole Season Peaks On Roads, Two Photographers Have Awesome Fun With the Scourge

While I was driving around yesterday here in Vermont, I ended up with a headache from bouncing into up and over all the potholes and frost heaves left for us from a cold, changeable, schizophrenic winter.

A photo from the Luciano/Ficca
"My Potholes" series.  

It's been a wild winter in much of North America and city streets throughout much of the United States and Canada are showing it.

I wish I had a penny for every tire, suspension, shock absorber or alignment screwed up by running over the zillions of large, growing and multiplying potholes out there.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Two photographers, David Luciano and Claudia Ficca did just that, roaming the streets of New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto and Montreal using potholes as a creative muse for all kinds of fun scenes.

Their project is called "My Potholes"  Nothing is photoshopped, according to the pair. They meticulously planned out the scenes, models, wardrobes and props.

This whole project reminds me the time a number of years ago when the "Pothole Bandit"  um, terrorized Burlington, Vermont, near where I live.

The bandit, fed up with all the potholes in Burlington during a tough winter, decided to get back at the city for its perceived lack of repairs by planting trees in the potholes.

Another image from the "My Potholes" series.  

In any event, you can ponder the Pothole Bandit and the "My Potholes" photo series while the mechanic fixes your pothole damaged car.