California’s decision to legalize weed last year apparently left some LA pranksters in high spirits over New Year’s Eve, as the Hollywood sign was altered to read ‘HOLLYWEED’.
Social media in the area was abuzz as locals shared photos of the altered sign with the tag #Hollyweed.
But the alteration might be more than a mere joke – it echoes a near-identical alteration made exactly 41 years ago by then-art student Danny Finegood.
The Daily Mail reports,
On January 1, 1976, Cal State Northridge student Danny Finegood used a $50 pair of curtains to make an identical amendment to the sign.
The alteration – made the same year that California relaxed its marijuana laws, earned him an A grade, The Cannabist reported last year.
The team also amended it to ‘Holywood’ for Easter 1976; to Ollywood to protest Marine Lt Col Oliver North amid the Iran-Contra hearings in 1987; and to ‘Oil War’ during the Persian Gulf War in 1990.
Feingood and his pals defended his work against claims that it was vandalism in a letter to The Times in 1983.
We broke no laws and did no damage to the sign,’ they wrote in a letter.
‘An artist’s role throughout history has been to create representations of the culture he exists in. By hanging four relatively small pieces of fabric on the landmark, we were able to change people’s perception of the Hollywood Sign.’
Finegood died of multiple myeloma in January 2007 at age 52. Though this latest alteration appears to be inspired by his work, it’s not known if there is a direct connection.
Read more at the Daily Mail
