Tracy Park Gallery to host an event raising awareness of PCH’s perils; locals will get free T-shirts for the cause
By Barbara Burke
Special to The Malibu Times
Tracy Park held up a T-shirt that emphatically demands “Give me speed cameras!” that was designed by Malibu artists Hunter Blaze Pearson and Alyssa Crosby, Park explained.
“Hunter really captured everything about all the elements of Pacific Coast Highway’s beauty as well as its perils and tragedies,” Park declared as she stood in her Malibu art gallery holding up the stunningly accurate and artistic T-shirt that captures Malibu’s main street, with all its beauty and tragedies.Park explained that the,
“Look! There’s a speed camera hidden in the palm trees, and there are the white tires from the memorial honoring victims who have died on PCH,” Park said. Pausing to somberly reflect, she added, “There’s an image that is an homage to the four Pepperdine women we recently tragically lost on PCH, and look at Alyssa’s design of the red sign warning motorists to watch out for people darting in front of traffic on PCH — it excellently depicts a family carrying a surfboard and a boogie board — that is something that is awfully dangerous that we all see daily driving on the highway.”
Free for locals — a T-shirt with a mission
Park announced that on May 30, her gallery will host a free event to raise awareness of PCH’s dangers and of the critical need for speed cameras. She stated that a benefactor — whom she only identified as Kayla — generously funded the creation and manufacturing of the T-shirts, which will be handed out to locals for free at the event.
“All locals are cordially invited to join us for the event and to enjoy mocktails, music, and summer punches,” Park said. “We will only serve non-alcoholic beverages so as to honor the cause of being safe on PCH, as well as to show respect of those victims who have lost their lives on our main street.”
Elaborating about the free apparel for locals, Park explained, “It was Kayla’s brilliant idea to create T-shirts to empower locals to advocate for the immediate installation of speed cameras on PCH.”
Detailing the creative design of the front of the shirts, Park said, “The front simply shows a pile of the white tires and nestled within the tires is a red stop sign that states ‘STFD’ in a brilliant design by Alyssa.” Discussing the meaning of that acronym, Park said, “IYKYK,” a reference to the abbreviation for “If you know, you know.” She then noted that “STFD” stands for “Slow The F*#k Down!” which is a phrase locals use to admonish those who speed and drive unsafely on PCH.
The artists’ creative processes
“I was honored that Tracy reached out to me with the opportunity to design this shirt,” Pearson said. “To begin, I created a color palette based on the colors you’d see on a sunny day at the beach with a bit of vintage fade to them. Then, in the design process, I compiled the major landmarks we all know on PCH and foreshortened the strip of road to fit them all in one frame. This helps to put into perspective all the beautiful life that exists on PCH and what we are trying to protect by being tougher on speeders.”
Pearson, a Malibu High School alumnus, humbly added, “When I heard about this project, it just felt like the perfect opportunity for me to contribute my skills to something that could make my hometown a bit safer, so I was very glad to help.”
Crosby also explained her designs on the T-shirt.
“Tracy came to me with the project, and I knew it was a great cause, especially because I have been honored to meet Emily Shane’s parents at local fundraisers to honor their 13-year-old daughter who was tragically killed on PCH,” Crosby explained. “I was so happy to participate in designing the T-shirt and the things that came to my mind when creating the designs were to emulate the stop signs that we all see in the San Diego area that warn about people crossing the freeways. My design is a nod to those signs you see closer to the border — I put a surfboard and a boogie board in the pedestrian family members’ hands because it’s what we see in Malibu — surfers and beachgoers just jaywalk and cross PCH, which is almost like a dangerous freeway, not a neighborhood street, which is so dangerous.”
Locals wishing to get free T-shirts and join in the artistic movement advocating for speed cameras and a safer PCH are welcome to attend the gathering.
Event Details
Tracy Park Gallery
23823 Malibu Road, Suite 700
May 30 from 5-8 p.m.