reading_chandler

Semiotics for Beginners by Daniel Chandler reminded me of my undergrad printmaking teacher's David Kahn's fine art pieces. He did a series of engravings based on hobo signs. Even though I grew up in the South it wasn't rural enough to see these firsthand. Hobos traveling around would mark fences with simplistic line drawings (The Signifier) as a way of passing along information (The Signified) to each other. These alerts (The Sign) communicated important items such as food/handouts, free medical attention or telephone, or warning against the presence of angry dogs or criminal activity. They resemble children's drawings, I suppose it would be considered outsider art.