Another Fine Gent

Here is a retro looking sign I caught in San Sebastian last summer. It shows another well-dressed Spaniard, actually a Spanish Basque. Note how the white shirt, blue jacket, and tie are indicated with just a few lines. That blue and white logo created from the letter E is a bit strange, not sure what that's about.

Boinas Elósegui are the best txapelas made in the Basque country (I think they are in Tolosa), and apparently the French like them too.

The Spanish Gentleman

Here is the metal sign I photographed in Spain. It says "Don't Touch" above and "Danger of Death" below. The image is quite clear, a falling figure paired with a symbol for electric shock, or perhaps a lightning bolt. Most people would glance at it quickly, get the idea and move on. But looking closer I appreciated the patina, and the amount of detail. The man has nicely detailed hands and facial features, dress shoes (notice the heels) and a suit. Is this the class of person likely to be fooling around with a fuse box or electrical transformer? (And shouldn't his hair be a little messed up?) And the lightning bolt isn't clearly directional; is it entering or leaving this poor man's chest?

Of course Spaniards have always dandies. Take a look at this print of a Spanish Gentleman from the 16th century:

This engraving has even more detail, and the gentleman is obviously proud of his costume. I borrowed the man and the lightning bolt to create other signs, perhaps I can use his great grandfather's image one of these days.

Recycling Images

A professor in design school once ranted about the human figures depicted in signs. Why make such rudimentary drawings, with circles for heads for God's sake, when there are so many art students graduating each year? Can't they just hire one to draw them a more realistic person for their sign?

Many images are simplified yet still elegant, while some are unnecessarily simple and become ridiculous. Sometimes a figure can be quite expressive, and a certain amount of detail helps. I found the man in the above picture on a sign in Spain with a lightening bolt shooting out of his chest, or into it. It was a warning about the possibility of electrocution, but I have taken the figure and the bolt of electricity and used them for several small projects. Here is one that recycles the Spaniard dressed in his suit and nice shoes (they all wear nice shoes), and a car image in a new context.

#%!*$

This is a sign somewhere in Seville, Spain, photographed by my friend Celeste Delgado-Librero. It is a beautiful piece made of ceramic tiles, the cracking only adds to the patina developed over time. I suspect that it is in a bar, although it could easily be in a public space like a market or a small plaza. The message here is "Blaspheming Prohibited". In english we would probably write "No Swearing" or "No Cussing".

Blaspheming is a particular kind of swearing, of course. It means showing irreverence or contempt for God or sacred personages, and it comes from the Middle English blasfemen. Before that it was Old French blasfemer, Late Latin blasphemare, and Greek blasfemos, and so on to the Indo-Europeans who apparently enjoyed the tradition of profane speech. Our verb "to blame" comes from the same root, and blasphemy in many cases is blaming God (rightly or not) for causing or allowing something to happen. Like when I hit my thumb with a hammer.

George Carlin used to say that there are no "bad words", just bad intentions. In these politically correct days there is a movement to protect us from things we do not want to hear, and the Christian Right has appointed itself Hall Monitor to the world (did you hear the one about Haiti and the Devil?).

I think we need to lighten up a bit.

With all good intentions, I created a new sign. Instead of telling you what to do or not to do (signs can be so bossy), this one is more of a request or a suggestion. After all, blaspheming is an ancient tradition.

When early man discovered fire (or received it as a gift from God), how long do you think it took him to burn himself? And what words do you think came from his mouth when that happened? Cussing was old hat long before the Indo-Europeans invented their own root word bha.

Street signs usually warn us about something (watch out for the deer that like to congregate just around this bend in the road), or they give us information related to traffic (HOV – high occupancy lane), or that may be useful to a hungry traveler (McBurger's three miles on right).

Signs rarely or never offer an opinion or ask a question. Bumper stickers are mostly about opinions and affiliations, and occasionally ask if you have found Jesus (is he lost again?) or urge you to Question Authority (they are not asking, they are telling).

This sign asks an age-old question. One that brings to mind many possible answers, and many variations on the question itself. Material for cogitation and reflection on our commute to work.

What Do You Mean?

When I was in design school one of the hot topics was semiotics. We spent a lot of time trying to understand the meaning of objects because, I guess, a cigar is not just a cigar. We also attempted to imbue our product designs with meaning, ideas relevant to their use, origin, or signals of some underlying philosophy.

It is no coincidence that SUV's seem masculine, aggressive, and look like a huge, fierce animal in your rear view mirror. Designers made them look that way. (A closer look often reveals a tiny blond soccer mom at the wheel, cell phone in one hand and Starbucks in the other.) It's enough to make you run off the road and let her pass by in a cloud of dust like the bulls in Pamplona, "outta the way, pipsqueak!". After all, they really do have to get to that stop sign ahead of you.
Everything you buy, eat, drive, do, tells the world something about you. A Prius versus a Hummer, an NRA sticker versus an NPR sticker, a PC, a Mac, red meat, tofu, a suit and tie, Starbucks coffee ...

All these help us identify and pigeonhole ourselves and others. They are all signs, although they may have very different meanings to different people.

Anyway, I love this photo that I took early one Sunday morning. I don't know what the hell it means, maybe a tiny woman in a big car ran this car off the road to get to that stop sign first.