Photographers Make L.A. Potholes into Temporary Art Pieces

Two Montreal-based photographers are taking to the streets of Los Angeles this month in order to transform, at least temporarily, an urban problem into a urban delight. Photographers Claudia Ficca and Davide Luciano have been traveling the continent, staging guerrilla street-level photographs to transform "disruptive craters into objects of fancy."

Where did this idea come from? "We were cruising through Outremont in our 1997 Jetta and we hit a big pothole," explains their website. "Six hundred dollars in car repair later, we came up with the idea of using potholes as the main theme in a photography project."

The timing of this project couldn't be better. "Potholes and crumbling roads are costing Angelenos $746 annually in wear-and-tear to their vehicles, including repairs, rising vehicle depreciation and tire wear," the Daily News explained, based on a report released today. In all, "Southern California's neglected roadways and bridges cost the average motorist about $2,500 a year in accidents, congestion-related delays and wear-and-tear on their vehicles."

When all is said and done, POTHOLES will be exhibited at the Soho Photo Gallery in New York City from February 2nd to the 27th.