Spurned by long lines at the Picasso exhibition yesterday, I discovered this, hard wired to a light pole outside SFMOMA.

A little googling led to Mr. Indiana’s web site. Here’s his statement regarding the project?

American Testimonial is a satirical reflection on the current state of culture and media in the United States. The project consists of 40 wooden tablets, each engraved with different qualitative juxtapositions of a contemporary pop stars—models, singers, and hot young artists basking in the disposable hype and whimsy of public attention—with influential, canonized artists from the last century.

The commandment-like tablets are at once cheeky and authentic, asking viewers to ask themselves: Is Paris Hilton actually more relevant to American culture than Mark Rothko?

It’s a cute little idea (though it begs the question: is Scarlett circa 2007 any worse than Miles circa 1985?) if not a little obvious—and much more entertainingly realized on MTV’s “Celebrity Deathmatch.”

Then I browsed Indiana’s site, and noticed this “commandment-like” tablet. It’s one thing to pit “canonized” artists in one realm against “hot young artists” in another. But dissing your contemporary is a cheap shot that turns satire to snark.

Here’s my qualitative juxtaposition: Pablo Picasso is better that Scott Wayne Indiana even when Pablo Picasso is oversold.