Can You Break the Code/x?

We’re sure all of you were sad to see Boston’s Cow Parade come to an end last week as all the bovines were removed from our city sidewalks. Luckily, those intellectual folks over in Cambridge have begun a community-based art project today that “explores the intersections of art and literacy.” Cambridge Code/x invites any one to decipher coded messages that will appear on the 2 miles of sidewalk between Harvard Square and Porter Square on Mass Ave. Once you think you may have cracked the code or just want to leave your two cents, you can stop at one of the many “chalk stations” along the route; each one will provide you with chalk and the ability to respond. Throughout the project, the original artists of the codes will be photographing the different stages as more people respond to them. These photos will then be turned into an art exhibition.

Cambridge Code/x was developed by Kerrie Bellisario, an Assistant Professor at Lesley University and local Cambridge artist; the project kicks off today and runs through September 23.

As long as it doesn't rain anytime soon, this temporary project could really take the art of sidewalk chalk into a whole new genre.

While this photo is not a code at all, we still enjoyed the randomness of this chalk drawing taken by Flickr user Glutnix.