The thing is...

In my thesis I don't want to put more printed matter into the universe or send more needless messages. I want to create something of value, that hopefully decreases the high concentration of visual stimuli in our lives. Today I sat and drew a lamp post in the Lower East side, and was so annoyed at the bar across the street for erecting this cheesy sign of photorealistic monkeys (and blasting bad techno). The reason I was so bothered by it is that they had absolutely no awareness of the historical building in which they occupied the street level space, and the architectural details were obviously not considered when hanging this sign, or the other hideous one that reads 'Hungry? $2.95' with a picture of an unappetizing sandwich.

I couldn't bring myself to post the hideous signage from the bar, but this is the building I was admiring. What if there was a way for store signage to connect with the surroundings and incorporate historical detail? For a neighborhood like the Lower East Side with rich history this would add so much value to the area and connect residents and visitors to the place. This idea is related to the theme of localization because using local/historical patterns is parallel to using local materials for building, local food for eating, and local artists for murals. These are all ways to add value to the community and bring awareness to the unique characteristics of the neighborhood.

I could use the inherent patterns and designs on surfaces and from overhead (i.e. Google Earth) to create place-specific artwork (in many forms, one of which would be signage). Actually, this is a photo I took of the restaurant Spitzers across the street from monkey madness. They did a good job of connecting with the place to deliver the appropriate style of signage, but I wonder if there is more to it than just something hip/urban. I love the lamp posts by the way.

I really want to work with maps in some way. I'm always fascinated by the idea that we're these tiny specks walking along, oblivious to our orientation in the greater surroundings. The awareness of the massiveness of our place/the Earth makes us realize that our lives are actually much simpler than they seem. An artist in Brooklyn seems to think along the same lines. We saw this cool mural, which was really a collage of many different artists, on the way to the Botanical Gardens.