G.H. Hovagimyan

May, 1994
Locations throughout New York City
Photo © 1994 G.H. Hovagimyan

G.H. Hovagimyan’s Hey Bozo, Use Mass Transit was the third in a series of billboard projects advocating the use of public transportation. Hovagimyan’s colorful image (and language) was plastered on twenty billboards, throughout all five boroughs. “It takes a lot of chutzpah to call drivers bozos,” said Patrick Boyle, spokesman for the Automobile Club of New York.

Hovagimyan’s text follows:
Hey Bozo/ You drive to work/ Get stuck in traffic/ Have an accident/ Get three parking tickets in one day/ You drive home like everyone else/ Stalled in Gridlock/ Choking on fumes/ You arrive home tenser than Rambo on a mission/ Next day/ You drive to work/ Get stuck in traffic/ A truck cuts you off/ You fight with the driver/ You are late to work/ Your car is towed/ You spend 150 bucks to get it back/ You arrive home with a migraine the size of Minneapolis/ Day in and day out/ It’s the same/ What are you/ A clown/ Use mass transit

Presented in partnership with MTA Arts for Transit.