Press button, wait for signal, look both ways, walk.
That's about all you need to know about using a crosswalk, so many pedestrians overlook the crosswalk instruction signs above the signal button. But take a good look at one the next time you're at an intersection.
Although they've been up since 2006, the "Total Crisis" crosswalk signs placed around LA by a prankster artist are easy to miss. They blend in to look like the original sign, which wasn't an attention grabber.
"The Total Crisis crosswalk signs were an attempt to make Los Angeles crosswalk instruction signs a little more relevant, said creator Jason Eppink. "I had seen the work of a Bay area prankster. He'd done something similar.
"My friend Tyler (Menzel) and I just wanted to remix those crosswalk signs. They're really unnecessary in two ways. First, who doesn't know how to use a crosswalk? And second, who walks in Los Angeles?"
The signs are in Venice Beach, Santa Monica, downtown LA, Silver Lake and Beverly Hills. Eppink, who now resides in New York City, created a Google map with locations of the 17 signs.
"This was an unauthorized collaboration with the city," Eppink said. "They were intended to blend in and reward the observant pedestrian. It's not intended to stick out.
"I don't have a particular agenda. It's really just an attempt to throw a little magic into the city."
