On view from July 2nd through August 8th, 2021
Across the globe, artifacts from pre-Internet commerce emerge from building facades in hand-painted figures and fonts of vintage advertisements. Known as ghost signs, these faded wall ads are folk art diamonds in the rough of today’s shiny plastic cities. Their fossilized messages, ranging from obvious to obscure, are the focus of our show’s ghost sign hunters, who’ve captured these fading designs and histories in photographs, videos, and interviews.
A live wall painting event will be held at the Museum by Philadelphia sign painter Gibbs Connors on July 3, 2021. Appearances by different photographers will occur throughout the exhibit as will additional demonstrations by Gibbs. Stay tuned for announcements.
Featuring work by Peter Woodall, Frank Jump, Chris Brace, Len Davidson, MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson, Gibbs Connors, and Jordan Keiffer.