Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

We Found 'Liz' From the Adorable 'You Are Beautiful Liz' Street Art Hack

By Josh McGhee | February 19, 2016 7:00am
 Rob Caya used the Matthew Hoffman art installation to surprise his wife after a tough week.
Rob Caya used the Matthew Hoffman art installation to surprise his wife after a tough week.
View Full Caption
Courtesy of Rob Caya

ANDERSONVILLE —  Every time Rob Caya drove by one of Matthew Hoffman's "You Are Beautiful" art installations, he said couldn't help but add his wife's name to the end of the statement in his mind (a good practice for all husbands).

Then one day he decided to actually, physically do it (probably not the best practice for all husbands).

Hoffman's "You Are Beautiful" sign on a fence where Foster Avenue meets Ashland Avenue is part of an effort started more than a decade ago that has gone global. The goal: "to remind ourselves that even when things aren’t going great, it’s OK."

Caya said he drove by the sign "every day to work, and the minute I saw it — the very first time I saw it — I thought Liz’s name belonged there."

"It’s kind of corny, but there was actually space for it and everything. It’s been on my mind for a really long time, but getting up the nerve to actually do it took a combination of circumstances," said Caya, 48, of Andersonville.

Rob Caya surprised his wife, Elizabeth Caya, after a tough weekend with her name in big bold letters across Foster Avenue. (DNAinfo/Josh McGhee)

The combination of circumstances happened to be the week of Valentine's Day when his wife of 20-plus years, Elizabeth, had to take an emergency trip to Alabama to be with her mother after surgery. With Elizabeth's birthday happening that week, along with Valentine's Day, Caya thought it was the perfect time to surprise his one-time high school sweetheart.

On their way home from O'Hare Airport, Caya took her on a quick detour, and she was treated to "the sweetest thing I could imagine," she said: "You Are Beautiful Liz" in bold letters.

“First, I thought it was a coincidence," Elizabeth said. "Then I was like 'someone’s going to be really pissed at you for doing this to their artwork' because it’s such a public thing. The idea is it's for everyone."

The longer it stayed up, the more it became "for everyone" — well, everyone named Liz. As pictures of the installation began circulating online, hundreds of people claimed the installation for their favorite Liz.

"I actually think a lot more of the fun was that it was shared with everybody. I love that it went around like that," said Elizabeth, 45.

Caya, a fan of Hoffman's art for years, also was surprised by how many people seemed to enjoy his artwork modification.

"The sign is meant to be general, right? It was surprising how general being specific was. It was this opportunity for all these people who knew a Liz to reach out to that Liz. I didn’t really expect that. I thought it would go up, be there for a little bit, take a couple pictures, take it down, and not that many people would notice," Caya said, adding that he hoped Hoffman wouldn't be too angry about his "co-opting" the installation.

Caya and Elizabeth met back at Lincoln Park High School about 30 years ago. After they dated for about eight years, they got married and moved into an Andersonville building they've been rehabbing ever since. The materials for the rehab are the tools he needed to pull off his mission, Caya said.

"I basically went down to the basement, found the sheets of plywood I needed. I did a little reconnaissance. I went over, measured the letters and the spacing to get an idea," said Caya, adding he paid close attention to how they were installed because "I wanted it to be quick to go up and quick to come back down."

Bad weather that weekend forced him to put the plan on hold the week before. But later he called his buddy for assistance and put the plan into motion.

"I really wanted to pick her up from the airport and drive her by it. So we actually put it up Wednesday morning around 11. a.m.," Caya said. He said he also sent the rest of the family clues to what he was doing via "a secret Valentine's Day mission"-themed email chain, "but not enough to know what’s going on."

But how did he do it in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon?

Simply by acting like he was "supposed to be doing it," he said.

“When we were done, I was taking pictures from across the street, and a guy came out and he said, 'So, who is Liz?'" 

"I didn’t want to get in a big thing about it, so I said 'I don’t even know. They just hire me to put these up. This is like a Valentine’s Day edition of the installation,'" Caya said. "Then he jumped in his Tesla and drove away."

 

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: