Signs of the Times - October 2016 - 38

S of t w a r e U p date By Theresa Jackson Ghost Signs Projected From the Past Experimental artist Craig Winslow illuminates historic signs. "Ghost signs, also known as faded ads, are the disappearing painted letters and illustrations on the sides of old buildings. They once lined the streets of almost every town and city. I suspect that practically every brick wall larger than 10 feet square was once covered by an advertisement." -Dr. Ken Jones G host Signs are faded signage on the sides of old buildings that, at one time, were advertisements for products and businesses that existed before the age of printed vinyl. Most ghost signs were painted on brick walls, with lead-based paint. Today you seldom see them, but when you do, their ghost-like appearance hints at a forgotten past. Artist Craig Winslow works with modern media to resurrect such signs. He brings the past into the future via his "Light Capsules" - that is, digital re-creations presented via animated projection. To heighten his knowledge for his presentations, he searches public records for original photographs, drawings, historical references and clues about the buildings' past occupants. His favorite discoveries are layered signs, those with newer ads painted on top older ones. His animated projection-mapping system allows such layers to come back to life. Winslow says his Light Capsule projects begin with the process of discovery, followed by photography and research. If necessary, he photographs the sign in multiple frames then stitches the images with Photoshop's Photomerge™ command. Once joined, he corrects any perspective distortion with the software's Lens Correction, Transform Tool and Guidelines utensils. Then, he works the image on his iPad using Adobe Draw, hand tracing discernable letters and accompanying graphic images. He forwards this image to his desktop computer's Adobe Illustrator software and then redraws the image with clean vector shapes and letters. Once done, he animates the drawing with Adobe After Effects™ and, for his presentations, uses MadMapper™ projection mapping software to align the animated Light Capsule with the original ghost sign. When the sun goes down, his brightly projected image brings the ghost sign back to life. Adobe's Creative Residency program directors chose Winslow for a yearlong grant, so he can focus full-time on his "Light Capsules" project. The Creative Residency program supports the creative community and honors individuals whose work elevates the role of visual content in our culture. Under this program, 38 SIGNS OF THE TIMES October 2016 Theresa Jackson operates Orchard View Color (Escondido, CA) and has more than 20 years' experience in prepress, graphic design, color management and photography. Email her at theresa@ orchardviewcolor.com Winslow will travel to various regions, including London, to find, research and temporarily resurrect ghost signs with his projection systems. I interviewed Winslow in July. I was curious about his reasons for moving from computer design to resurrecting ghost signs. He said he enjoys new technologies but began looking for items from the past that relate to his interests. He feels that his contemporary restoration of ghost signs creates a type of portal to a past world. "I like the idea that by looking into the past; you become the time traveler," he said, adding that the images cause a perspective change, meaning they cause him to imagine us as in the future, as seen from the past's present. Winslow also said he finds artistic inspiration from different styles of signage, type, fonts and layouts from a time when messaging and slogans were simple and basic. "The very simple, not overly complex style is coming back today," he said. Winslow has visited the American Sign Museum (Cincinnati) to see the work of today's artists who paint wall signs and murals (www.americansignmuseum.org). There, he also learned about Artworks Cincinnati (www.artworkscincinnati.org), an organization that both funds and recruits student artists to apply murals on city walls. He said Artworks is excited about possibly installing a permanent projector that would animate a chosen ghost sign. Winslow also imagines modern murals with nighttime illuminative graphics, placed in city entertainment centers. He said his biggest challenge is finding a balance of time, determining which of his new discoveries are prizewinners, and then simply getting the production work done. "Battling time spent working on a project versus getting it out is always there," he said. "However, I've been focusing in on the things that I am really excited about and selecting projects that I am actually able to resolve." I asked, "What's the most fun?" Winslow said, "It's exciting to feel like I unearthed something that was hiding when I find a ghost sign. I also enjoy getting the story going about the people who owned these stores or buildings. It's rewarding to feel like I am finding images and stories that may have been forgotten. "It's also exciting to set up the projectors and talk to whomever comes by," he added. "This is a very magical medium, one that gets people excited when they happen by." n http://www.americansignmuseum.org/ http://www.americansignmuseum.org/ http://www.artworkscincinnati.org

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