Advertisements constantly surround the lives of New Yorkers that after a while they aren’t even paid attention to. Ads can typically be found on buses, telephone booths, taxi cabs, subway cars and on gigantic billboards scattered around the city, particularly in Times Square where they seem almost blinding. They are everywhere you turn and yet no one ever spends time looking at them, really observing them and their meaning, unless you are watching one being painted on by a sign painter.
Painting in Progress, photo by Karen Horton
Competing with Posters
Concord Painting–a major sign painting corporation that works for the likes of Astroland (Cyclone Roller coaster), Cartier on 5th Avenue, The Brooklyn Public Library, and the Marriot Marquis, just to name a few—have overcame their struggles from when the popularity of posters increased; “New York sign painting suffered in the seventies and eighties but is making a steady comeback thanks to public appreciation of its artistry and appeal.” It is apparent that major corporations are sticking to the individuality that sign painting offers to their buildings.
It would be hard to tell that this is painted on until you see the painters swing stage underneath.
The Creative Process
Sign painting was the original form of advertising in Manhattan in the 1950’s. Though it is seen as a lost art that has been overpowered by the simplicity and cost efficiency in the mass reproduction of posters, the diligence and attentiveness that is required to perform this tedious artistry is the strength that has kept it alive for so many years. As Concord Painting describes it, “The actual sign painter’s work is still meticulous and hand crafted. Using a grid pattern the painting itself is still done by hand. The color matching is done by eye and hand through experience in working with the paint and different surfaces. A sign painter can be catagorized as a commercial contractor, but in a finer sense, the sign painter is a true artist.”
Painting in progress on 23rd st, photo by Karen Horton
Hope for the Future
A handful of buildings throughout the city still stay committed to the artistry that is sign painting. The ads tend to give a sense of originality, uniqueness and add a beautiful aesthetic to the once common and dull brick building. It is with this maxim that sign painting companies still thrive in business throughout New York City and should continue to prosper for years to come.
