Lost Art: Hand Painted Billboard Advertising
Thursday, June 17th, 2010
I recently watched a short documentary about the dying art of hand painted billboards. It was created by Stella Artois (yes….a big corporation, but it’s a really inventive way to promote your company!), and it featured colossal paintings completed during a 28-day period on a 20- by 50-foot wall in SoHo.
According to some people the technique of hand painted advertising is making a come back, but it’s hard to believe it when we live in such a fast paced society where a 20 foot billboard can be printed off and hung within a few hours.
Apparently the larger companies are willing to fork out the big bucks because it’s authentic and it creates a spectical in the city or a “buzz.” I can definately understand that, since you can actually watch the image appear over a period of time, while the guys are dangling above the city in their rigging.
I am blown away by the skills they have. Unfortunately I don’t think those skills will be passed on to too many more people in the future if their industry really does die.
So next time you think of designing a billboard, why not think of the artists and get it hand painted for a change!
Check out the documentary here:
