[Reader-list] Heritage Signage Disappearing

[Kath O'Donnell]

good luck with your project. I haven't any photos of Mumbai buildings
(have only been there on a stopover) but I liked the signs in Delhi &
Bangalore. most of them seemed hand painted apart from a few newer
printed full-size rollup screens. I always wondered about this. it
seemed to me that there was a whole industry/skillset behind this. and
if they moved to more westernised / printed screens to look like every
other country's city, that people would lose this skill. plus what we
noticed was that India seemed to give more opportunities to people
instead of automated processes (likely for a range of reasons). I
thought this was good that people were given work and could still
produce work with their hands instead of everything being done by
machines.

similar for the handpainted pictures on the rear of the autorickshaws.
(I have a small collection of these on flickr). I might be back in
Delhi later this year so will take more photos then. one of the guys
from work (in bangalore) mentioned there was an area of the city where
you could go and see the signs being painted.

do you know the reason for the change? is it part of westernisation?
automation? or just to clean up the city? for the locals or the
tourists?

it'd be nice if they restored the signs rather than replaced them.
they could market the area as an art-deco (where appropriate) or
yesteryear art precinct. maybe u could start a project to do /
organise the restoration and work with the building developers. or
have an exhibition and ask the locals which they prefer in their city.
at the very least if might help raise awareness in your community.
(not sure if this is feasible for you - just some suggestions)

is it happening in other cities also?

(sorry I'm using firefox on a mac and can only see each of the page
0's on your typocity site - it won't let me bring the other pages to
the front so I can read them for more info)
fwiw I'll post an article on my site about it.
kath



-- 
http://www.aliak.com

On 9/15/07, Vishal Rawlley <vishal.rawlley at gmail.com> wrote:
> Friends,
>
> In 2002 the Typocity project (www.typocity.com) was initiated to document
> typefaces and signage styles in public spaces of Bombay. Since then, many of
> the old signs that we documented are slowly vanishing. However, I was most
> distressed to find that some of this heritage is being destroyed by the
> municipal corporation itself in the name of protecting and
> restoring heritage structures. Nothing can be more absurd.
>
> Please follow this link to see the pictures of replaced signs and find out
> more: http://bombay-arts.com/signs_gone/  Do excuse the quality of some of
> the recent pictures as they were taken on the spur with a phone-camera. If
> anyone has better pictures of the recently replaced Eastern Watch sign
> please share it with me.
>
> I am desperately looking for suggestions and ideas to counter this lack of
> sensitivity by the municipal corporation. I shall be very grateful for any
> help.
>
>
> Best,
> Vishal
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