It is no secret that times have changed. Are changing. Will continue to change. We humans have been working for decades to shed our animal skin and master our world in new and innovative ways. Wielding raw material and twisting its form, “making” is something we excel at on a grandiose scale; something our wild cousins have yet to master in their own evolutionary journeys through time. And yet, the unavoidable truth is that our own progress can also be our undoing. All thoughts on the environmental state of the planet aside, the rise of technology and the mantra of “smarter, better, faster” has slowly removed the “art” from the very human “art of making”. In many ways, we have eclipsed our own talents with processing power. Digital replaces film, pixels replace paper, and mass production is slowly squeezing the personality from the things in our lives.
However, this mammoth technological turn has pushed some amongst us further away from the world of wires we have created. Vinyl albums have spun themselves into the hearts of an entirely new generation of listeners and more than a few people are appreciating the fruits (and vegetables) of the slow food movement. Artists and consumers alike are reveling in all different aspects of this old-school revival. Local loyalty towards the hand-crafted is on the upswing, breathing some traditional charm into the modern mindset. The pendulum is shifting.
Doubters can visualize the swing in motion, as the efforts of Louisville’s many talented makers are often displayed in vivid punches to the eye. More than one person may have done a double take when passing the corner of Lucia and Bardstown this previous fall. The Highlands mural, brushed onto the brick of The Wine Market, vibrantly proclaims the “weird, independent & proud” spirit of the neighborhood – and appeared practically overnight. Designed by local artist Bryan Patrick Todd after winning a contest commissioned by the Highlands Commerce Guild, the project was hand-executed by professional sign painter Kirby Stafford. For Stafford, such a feat of public art is all in a day’s work. Hailing from Danville, Kentucky, Kirby’s efforts in the business of hand-lettering is no mere dalliance but rather a continuation of the aptitude he discovered during his high school days.
Currently one of only two hand-letter painters still operating in the Danville area, Kirby found his calling amidst an art class in 1973, at a time when all sign painting was commissioned by hand. Encouraged by his art teacher, who recognized his talent, Kirby decided to pursue the profession after graduation, taking his first job in Lexington. At the time, the draw of sign painting seemed “as good a way as any to make a living,” Kirby recalls now. But the creativity of experimentation is what has maintained Kirby’s attraction to the art form: “It’s more fun…to get out there and do a real rough sketch on the side of a truck and then fill it out with paint.” It’s a freedom and a personal experience that can’t really be simulated in the glow of a computer monitor – Kirby’s technological counterpart.
Since Kirby set up his own shop in 1977, the sign industry has shifted dramatically with the appearance of that newfangled contraption – the computer. “Anybody with a computer and a printer can be a ‘sign maker’ now,” laments Kirby. The ease and cheap cost of buying a printed sign is often favored over Kirby’s simple ruler and sketch. Although competition from digital rivals can be robust, Kirby finds that customers are still requesting hand-lettering, roughly 40 percent of his business. And Kirby guarantees that his hand painted works will outlive his printed vinyl contemporaries. With his own special blend of paint, Kirby’s handiwork is made to “outlast the customer and the business”, outstripping the 8 to 10 year lifespan of a vinyl sign by decades. The art becomes a lasting testimony to Kirby’s talent, something that cannot be torn down and tossed casually in the dumpster.
It is this same sense of enduring authenticity that captured the attention of fellow sign painter Amanda Bishop. Living and working locally now after several years on the west coast, Amanda Bishop discovered the craft of hand-lettering in college with an artistic circle of friends. With recent work covering the sides of the bar Meat, as well as the new restaurant Rye, Amanda’s love for the art form is experiencing a rebirth after seven years of dormancy. “I just remembered while I was doing those couple jobs…how much I love it, how fun it is.” For Amanda, the history behind the process draws her in, inspired by classic painters such as Margaret Kilgallen whose work often focused on huge, site-specific public pieces. Using a combination of mathematics, chalk, and a keen eye, Amanda finds her time atop the scaffolding sometimes daunting but exhilarating. Presently working towards a graduate degree in children’s book illustration, Amanda’s talents have been focused on a much more petite scale until recent months. “I’ve been working really small, like in a cocoon at my desk,” she says, “so getting up on scaffolding and being really visible and working really large was kind of nerve-wracking – but awesome. I love doing it.”
Echoing Kirby, Amanda laments the loss of old school techniques in the face of the digital arms race, but also finds comfort in the rising interest of traditional craft amongst our generation. She credits the human connection with the growing momentum: “You feel better about it, when you see an old, hand painted sign. It wasn’t a machine that printed it out…there’s more care.” Sign painting is an artistic calling card, something that the viewer can stop and experience and the artist can use as an extension of self – a personal and symbiotic relationship.
This relationship, however, is not limited to paint, brick and mortar. Louisville’s wider community of makers is growing in both trade and notoriety. Other – sometimes much older – fields such as old-fashioned letter press and blacksmithing are also receiving modern favor and fans. Local contemporary practitioners of other hand craft are both well-established and newly-minted. Outfits such as Hound Dog Press and Kaviar Forge strive to marry modern needs to traditional methods.
In the case of Kaviar Forge, owner and blacksmith Craig Kaviar has been in the business of bringing fire and brimstone to life for over 35 years, set up in his present location on Frankfort Avenue since 1985. A true craftsman, Kaviar’s work is both functional and fiercely sculptural, featuring everything from tools to candlesticks to ornate, flame-licked furniture. “You’re making things that people actually need and want while still having a tremendous creativity,” says Craig of his craft. Using equipment ranging in age from the 1800s to WWII, Craig’s antique tools and talented hands create beautifully texturized fencing, gates and railings – his most popular commissions – which can be seen snaking throughout the city. It’s a unique artisan character that people can see, touch and respond to. “There’s a heritage of people’s memory,” Craig emphasizes, “there’s a cultural consciousness of [blacksmithing]. You’re really grounded in the history of mankind.” Usable art has a tangible connection between artist and owner, and that link is something that cannot be replicated on the production line.
As far as the folks at Hound Dog Press are concerned, that same tangible link holds a quality that stands out from the crowd and makes a visible and tactile difference to the customer. “The principle is in the process,” states co-owner Nick Baute. With business ranging from everything to exuberant posters and art prints to greeting cards and wedding invitations, the wheel of Hound Dog’s 1916 old-fashioned press turns out a special kind of custom connection. With literally thousands of different type settings lining the walls and two skilled artists turning the press, Hound Dog is a commercial print shop keeping tradition alive. “We do it because we just enjoy what we do and we’re rewarded in that way,” says Nick, “I think people respond to that too. People come in and they can sort of feel it and sense it.” Although the method of hand set type is slower and more labor intensive than pressing a print button, the end result is something noticeably different from a carbon copy reproduction. “If we were about speed and quantity, we wouldn’t be using this process,” Nick explains, “but there’s something to be said about slowing down and doing things the old-fashioned way.” Something that our increasingly fast world can’t simulate with an app.
The hard truth remains that not everyone living in the digital age will have the patience to stop and appreciate the slower craft practices of generations past. But those seeking respite from the push of technology are growing in their support of those artisans striving to rework tradition for a modern audience. “I think the vitality of a city depends on the walk-ability of its neighborhoods,” Bishop emphasizes, “and we’re putting heart back into the city.” Whether pressing words into paper, stoking the fire of a forge or splashing out a logo by hand, “the art of making” need not die in the wake of digital progress. Love for the craft and respect for the talent can keep time-honored techniques from becoming simply antiquarian. In the case of Louisville’s circle of skilled craft artists, the pulse, at this point, is a positive beat.
– Erin Day
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