11 March 2010 - 16:59A new take on street art.

Those mini billboards atop New York taxis generally deliver not-so-subtle messages that vie for consumer attention in one of the densest visual environments in the world.

High art they most certainly aren’t.

But for the months of January and February, Show Media, a Las Vegas company that owns about half the billboards (they’re called cones) adorning New York city’s taxis, decided to give commerce a rest. Instead of advertisements, roughly 500 cabs displayed a different kind of message; artworks by Alex Katz.

The effort cost Show Media about $100,000 in lost revenue, but John Amato, one of Show’s owners and a contemporary-art fan, said: “I thought it was time to take a step back. January and February are slow months. I could have cut my rates but instead I decided to hit the mute button and give something back to the city.”

He contacted Mr. Katz through the Art Production Fund, a nonprofit New York organization that presents art around the city and proposed displaying his art for 2 months.

The project was called “Art Adds,” not just as a play on its advertising origins but also, Mr. Amato said, because “art adds to the public’s vision.”

Mr. Katz, known for his portraits of supermodels Christy Turlington and Kate Moss, has taken two of his recent portraits and put them together. One is a frontal portrait, the other the back of her head. They are set against a black background. “you can’t go wrong with black and yellow,” the artist said of the poster like quality of the design.

CF’s a fan of Mr. Katz’s work and we noticed the cones zipping around town and did some digging to unearth the story behind the artwork on the cabs. We quickly realized that there isn’t a revenue generation story or the launch of a hot new app here, but we applaud Show Media’s efforts anyway. This mash-up of art and fashion resulted in a stylish treat that cut through the visual ghetto New York’s cityscape too often is. Taste and beauty count for the quality of our environment and adds value to the New York brand experience. And that’s ROI we all can enjoy.