Caution A-Head
Text, traffic signs; 3’ x 3’; Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga, CA
Caution A-Head is a site-specific public art installation along the winding roads of the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, California. Eight yellow, diamond-shaped traffic signs display the opening lines of Dante’s Inferno, translated into the language of text messaging. Fragmented and sequenced along the road, the signs transform Dante’s dark-forest journey into a playful, contemporary meditation on being lost and seeking direction.
By using familiar, everyday objects—traffic signs and texting conventions—the project creates an accessible entry point for viewers. The forested environment mirrors Dante’s metaphorical setting, while the linear progression of signs encourages reflection, engagement, and interaction. In bridging art with public life, Caution A-Head invites a reconsideration of how meaning, navigation, and narrative intersect in both our physical and conceptual landscapes.