"Signs For the Future" by Paul Shortt In Support of Bob Belote and einBuch.haus
This week, NNH is proud to present our first guest post with Paul Shortt's Signs for the Future. I first met Paul in 2017 at Open Space's Publications and Multiples Fair in Baltimore. We traded signs- my Yes Trespassing for his "OK to Loiter" which has been installed (with honor) in my family's bathroom ever since.
It's been an absolute pleasure to watch Paul develop his creative voice in the ensuing years. His work is satirical but not snarky; simultaneously lighthearted and deeply committed to its craft. My favorite humor is always backed with a sense of intellectual rigor- that tricky balancing act between silly and serious. And Paul gets it. You can be the smartest person in the room and still keep 'em smiling.
Paul's Signs for the Future exist in an universe that's still full of optimism (without the requirement that one's head be buried in the sand to enjoy it.). And it's that sense of optimism that makes it a perfect way to close out our multi-part dérive into text/ sign based artwork. To believe the newsman, the future is already written- full of doom, gloom, and haunted memories of what could've been. I'd rather listen to Paul... The future is what we imagine it to be.
Oh, and he never stops making stuff. I like that. A lot.
Signs for The Future by Paul Shortt
In Signs for the Future, I present signs that imagine what issues, rules and technology signs will address in the future. Some works play with the possibilities of the future with works such as Time Travel Meeting Point imagining how signs could change through science fiction level technologies.
While other works are more critical of current and future technologies such as AI Not in Use Here, and Facial Recognition Banned. Signs that suggest a push back to our current obsessions with AI and algorithms.
The works are also hopeful for the future, with the sign Climate Restoration in Progress imagining a future where we are slowly restoring the damage caused by climate change. Together the works attempt to cautiously and playfully imagine a future with possibilities.
Find can find more of Paul's work here
About Who Paul is Supporting
"I'd like to highlight two fundraisers for artists/organizers who have hit a rough patch. In both situations, insurance, and insurance companies making you jump through hoops play a key role.
First, artist Bob Belote had a stroke last year and needs help to stay on his insurance plan. Bob was a few years ahead of me at both KCAI where I went to undergrad and UIUC where I went to graduate school. Here is the link to learn more and donate.
Secondly, einBuch.haus in Berlin is an artist-run bookstore and gallery that recently had their whole store flooded, damaging all the books and specially designed displays. Here is a link to donate. While insurance will cover some costs, it won't cover everything.
We are all living in a time when the places that should work to protect and support people aren't. Which is why I hope you will check out these fundraisers and hopefully donate."
Next week: Things take a turn towards the sonic dimension. Ears open, eyes off the phone.
"We don't need another hero" - Tina Turner
"We just need you" - The rest of us.
A call to action, commonly known by the initialism CTA, is a strategic marketing tool designed to spur an immediate response from an audience, guiding them toward a specific action.
NNH began with the (perhaps naive) hope that it could be of service to folks who needed it. I wasn't exactly sure who that meant- Was it the potential readership? The Mutual Aid groups that would be featured in each post? Or other creative types (equally fed up with the constant "me at the center" paradigm required by our Tech Overlords) looking for a place to get weird and do some good.
SO, if you're out there- whomever you may be- Let me know. Leave a comment. Click a link. Tell a friend. Pitch an idea. Do anything to feel less alone in the world.
Member discussion