Aside from littered streets, impenetrable crowds and overpriced everything, one of the major pitfalls of living in a major urban metropolis is the endless barrage of advertisements. Whether driving down Sunset Boulevard or pushing your way through Times Square, your eyes will undoubtedly be bombarded by flashing letters, scantily clad women and fast food that invariably looks far worse in real life.
In a project that's rapidly gaining traction on the web, French artist Etienne Lavie dares to ask what we're all thinking: What would the world look like without these omnipresent ads? "OMG, Who Stole My Ads?" imagines a bustling Paris in which classical masterpieces hang on local bus stops and billboards. If you want a spoiler alert, though we doubt you'll need one, the world looks a lot better.
Lavie photographed the streets of Paris and the painted masterpieces separately, later editing them together digitally. Lavie told The Huffington Post he wished the images to speak for themselves, giving little information about the details behind the work. We have to say, the artist's images, at once so realistic and yet a world apart, speak loud and clear of an urban utopia where art is privileged over consumer goods. See the beautiful alternate reality below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
