When we moved to Korea in '96, I thought it was interesting that many of the movie billboards were still hand painted. Since then, practically every one of those billboards have disappeared. During our last trip to Korea this past March, something reminded me of this and got me wondering about what ever happened to all those billboard painters. And just when I had given them up for extinction like the obsolete milkman, NPR's 'Talk of the Nation' did a segment yesterday on an upcoming documentary (trailer above) and book about sign painters across the US. Apparently, many sign painters are still alive and well, painting signs in a city near you. I found it strangely comforting to learn this and made me wish that I had applied for that sign painting job at Trader Joe's some years ago. I'll certainly think better of it if I ever run into the opportunity again but until then, I guess I'll have to live vicariously through all the artists featured in 'Sign Painters'.
PS: Images shown here were taken from Wing's Art and Design Book Reviews. Check them out for more images and a more detailed review of the book!
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