mSignArt historic irony in Beverly Hills - artist michaelm

Originally, all promotional designs on the shop's window glass were done on the exterior side, in white with black outlines. Pretty boring. Then came the "Nuclear Age" and the radiated infused colors we now call fluorescent became available to artists. The advertising version of "Black Light" pop culture in the 1960s was born. The nuclear colors combined with great designs have happily retired generations of mom & pop business owners and of course, sign artists respectively.

My sign art techniques were passed to me by sign artist Ken Young. The man who introduced those fluorescent colors to point of purchase advertising in Hollywood, CA. The epicenter of a world wide phenomena in advertising that has evolved for nearly 40 years.

Now, in 2010 we've come full circle. Levi Strauss advertising design dept. asked me to hand letter their promotion on the interior side of the window, in a flat white, no outlines. They provided the design in the form of a poster size template which we taped to the exterior side face out. After the first coat was lettered, I then captured the event with an HD Flip on the public sidewalk of Beverly Hills.

Sean, the next generation of sign artists, sits and hand letters in a style not seen since the early 60s, in the last millennium. The multi-layers of metaphors reveal themselves as the butt of the message is revealed.

In addition to one historical advent is another. The promotional message itself has broken new ground, social acceptance in advertising standards, in both Beverly Hills and Santa Monica 3rd St. Promenade. It's worth the view.

I humbly thank the Levi advertising personnel and shop staffs of each Levi's store for the multi-honors afforded my son, Sean and I.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• artist
• sign painter
• sign art
• design
• colors
• paint
• promotional
• fluorescent
• historical
• Nuclear Age
• radiated
• honor
• Levi's
• store
• Beverly
• Hills
• Los
• Angeles
• Orange
• County