Sign Painters

Description

Sign Painters is about the people, practices and art of sign painting and hand lettering. The book is comprised of transcribed interviews and images Faythe Levine and Sam Macon collected over two years of filming with working sign painters across America. The conversations, ruminations and thoughts expressed by these working sign painters communicate the history, the current state, and the future of this oft overlooked trade. Though the book will be a great read for the sign painting community, the book is more directed at your average aesthetically minded citizen. Anyone interested in art, design, public space, community, etc. should find this book of value. Sign painting occupies an interesting cross section of art and commerce, design and utility, artistry and labor, and this book tells this unique story.

Promotion info

Foreword by the painter Ed Ruscha (former sign painter); First anecdotal history of American sign painters; A rich collection of typography and process images; Second book by Faythe Levine, the author of the successful Handmade Nation.

Author description

Since graduating from High School Faythe Levine hasn t stopped working on project after project. Her interest in outsider communities, artists and the stories and people whom often get overlooked have propelled her to travel extensively. The constant in Faythe s 20 years of creative work is her dedication to documenting her day to day life and travels through photographs and correspondence (once handwritten letters, now more commonly through social networking sites). This dedication has allowed her creative community to have an international reach full of a variety of both famous and infamous people of all types. Sam Macon is a filmmaker. He directs television commercials, music videos, short form documentaries and Web based video content through production company Radar Studios. He also helms commercial projects in Paris through Cosa Productions and in Moscow with Bazaleves Films. He is currently working on the feature length documentary Sign Painters. In addition to directing, Sam has taught video production at the Chicago Portfolio School and has been a guest lecturer at DePaul University and Syracuse University.

Table of contents

ANNOTATED TABLE OF CONTENTS; Acknowledgments; Foreword: artist Ed Rucsha (former sign painter)--to be confirmed; Preface: authors Faythe Levine and Sam Macon; Introduction: Glenn Adamson, deputy head of research and head of graduate studies at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V 1. Rey Guise; 2. Steve Powers; 3. Caitlyn Galloway; 4. Justin Green; 5. Bob Dewherst; 6. Ira Coyne; 7. Sean Barton; 8. Jeff Canham; 9. Ernie Gosnell; 10. Norma Jeanne Maloney; 11. Keith Knecht; 12. Colossal Media; 13. Mark Oatis; 14. Rose Oatis; 15. Ralph "Doc" Guthrie // LA Trade Tech; 16. Nick Barber; 17. Gary Martin; 18. Bob Behounek; 19. Mike Myer; 20. John Downer; 21. Forrest Wozniak; 22. Phil Vandervaart; 23. Steve Powers; 24. Josh Luke; 25. Damon Styer; 26. Sean Starr; Illustrated Glossary reprinted from Wagner School of Sign Arts; Contributor Biographies: Faythe Levine, Sam Macon, Josh Luke, Ira Coyne, Travis Auclair; Resource Index.