![[dust]](./bin/dust.jpg)
DUST
![[speed bump]](./bin/speed.jpg)
SPEED BUMP
![[all turns]](./bin/turns.jpg)
ALL TURNS
![[three way]](./bin/threeway.jpg)
THREE WAY
![[maintain speed]](./bin/maintain.jpg)
MAINTAIN SPEED
![[enter here]](./bin/enter.jpg)
ENTER HERE
![[hump]](./bin/hump.jpg)
HUMP
![[no stopping]](./bin/stopping.jpg)
NO STOPPING
![[merge]](./bin/merge.jpg)
MERGE
![[rocks]](./bin/rocks.jpg)
ROCKS
![[all lanes]](./bin/lanes.jpg)
ALL LANES
![[go away]](./bin/away.jpg)
GO AWAY
![[deaf]](./bin/deaf.jpg)
DEAF
![[no way out]](./bin/noway.jpg)
NO WAY OUT
Uncle Freddy's Gallery, Hammond Indiana, May 2003
These are reproductions of road signs found all over the country, hand cut by local Highway Maintenance Departments. I have spotted them throughout the Midwest, and in Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Texas, and Oregon. They are elements of a venacular aesthetic defining an Americana we live in and often do not recognize -- unique, funny, and at times impenetrable.
The warning message is not always clear. Often there are local attempts at improving the meaning, or at promoting a greater terseness. I tend to misread many of these signs as social and political statements ("Keep Left") and especially as sexual metaphors. What else can you do on road trips except entertain yourself?
![[]](./bin/ylinux.gif)