The Film
Sign Painters is produced by Radar Studios and directed by Faythe Levine & Sam Macon. Together, they have crafted a narrative of how an invisible labor trade became a celebrated craft of standout artisans despite the age of computer aided sign making nearly decimating the industry. Alongside Sam and Faythe, I had the honor of providing inspiration for the project, curatorial guidance, and painting the opening montage sequence with journeyman sign painter Bob Behounek and industry veteran Jeff Williams.
Sign Painters premiered at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2013
Sign Painters: A Tribute to Traditional Sign Making
The Book
Published by Princeton Architectural Press and distributed by Chronicle Books, this companion piece to the film is authored by Faythe & Sam using excerpts from the interviews they collected for the film.
I was asked to contribute the artwork for the cover, which Princeton Architectural graciously translated into an embossed paper back with 184 heavy stock glossy pages featuring a forward by renowned American artist and trained sign painter, Ed Ruscha.