African Signs, by Rob Floor, Gert van Zanten andPaul Faber, KIT Publishers, 208 pages, 2010. ISBN 978-9-4602-2080-7. Soft cover $45 Every once in a while those of us who don’t often make it to Africa have an opportunity to glimpse the continent’s extraordinary commercial visual culture. As recently as this summer vibrant examples of hand-painted movie posters from the 1980s and ‘90s were on view at the Chicago Cultural Center, which also mounted a show in 1996 of elaborate decorated coffins from Ghana. Both genres have books devoted to the, African hair salon and barber shop signs, meanwhile, were featured
Continue readingCategory: Roadside Art
Jacksonville Attractions
Jacksonville, Florida, like many southern cities, is a treasure trove of roadside art
Continue readingGreat Gyros Signs
Here are some more masterpieces of prosaic art from around the world.
Continue readingFabulous Roadside Vistas
A sampling of wonderful vistas that line — or in some cases used to line — the roadside coast to coast.
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Book Review: John Margolies, Roadside America
John Margolies, Roadside America, edited by Jim Heimann, with contributions by Phil Patton, C. Ford Peatross and photos by John Margolies. Taschen, 288 pages, about 400 color photos, 2010. ISBN: 978-3-8365-1173-5. Hard cover $39.99. The enthusiasm for vernacular expression that began flowering in the United States in the 1970s never quite gelled into a unified movement. Yet a new generation did learn to value the work of self-taught artists and a sizable coterie of writers, photographers, architects and others discovered an exterior landscape whose aesthetic dimension was almost entirely accidental, but all the more striking for it.
Continue readingThe Bottle Cap Inn: New Views
Some new views of the monumental Bottle Cap Inn, and an updated page format.
Continue readingThe Signs of Clark Street
There are great signs up and down Clark Street. This is part 2 of what will no doubt be a continuing series. Here’s part 1
Continue readingArchitectural Treasures
Interesting sites and details from Chicago and vicinity.
Continue readingDowntown Deco
Lower Manhattan is a carnival of art deco details.
Continue readingPulaski Road, Chicago
Signs and sights from Pulaski Road. This mosaic sign is one of the best. I’ve never seen another one like it.
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