The New Wall Dogs

from "Ghost Signs" Coca Cola Sign approx. 1907-1910


The term "wall dog" referred to the men who created painted advertising signs on the sides of buildings up until the early 70's and disappeared as digital technology and space-age plastics made enormous signs easier to print enormous pieces for display outdoors. The art of the wall dogs can still be seen as ghosts on the sides of buildings in great cities and small towns. Beautiful half images that remind us when Coke was 5 cents or Gus was the guy who fixed your car.

Walking downtown tonight I looked for my favorite street art- with the advent of marker proof paints and the ongoing blight of gentrification on my beloved graffiti, the artists have adapted, first with stickers of all sorts directing the viewer to a website, and occasionally encouraging the viewer to peel and steal the art (it can't be just me who does this...) Tonight I found- four and five foot art stickers on the walls around Soho- they look like this: