22 Jul 2012
American Roadside sign art from Bill Martin
Bennie Frazier’s retro fashion store in Sweetwater, Texas, is an unlikely home for a collection of original artworks from Bill Martin, late resident of the same town. These depict the colourful roadside signs that once characterised American highways, often using neon and sometimes as big as the buildings they were positioned on. These were referred to in the sign industry as ‘spectaculars’.
The pictures shown have echoes of Stuart Free’s work in the UK, capturing urban features that are lost or which have fallen into disrepair. (Skip to 2:11 in the video for the start of the relevant content.)
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