Frank Short

Why signs you may ask?

There is a hidden beauty in everything if you look for it.

Being a commercial photographer I have photographed many different
subjects, including architecture, fashion, and products for the advertising world. I have always been intrigued by design. Working for advertising agencies, shooting campaigns and ad layouts gave me a different perspective on how design influences
people.

I was shooting in Las Vegas for a client one year, and something just clicked. As I looked up at this one sign, all the years shooting architecture and commerc...

Why signs you may ask?

There is a hidden beauty in everything if you look for it.

Being a commercial photographer I have photographed many different
subjects, including architecture, fashion, and products for the advertising world. I have always been intrigued by design. Working for advertising agencies, shooting campaigns and ad layouts gave me a different perspective on how design influences
people.

I was shooting in Las Vegas for a client one year, and something just clicked. As I looked up at this one sign, all the years shooting architecture and commercial photography just came together. I saw a beauty in these signs I never had seen before. I saw how graphically these signs were designed, their architectural value in time. There were a certain design back in the 30's thru the 70's in signs that have been lost in today’s signs. They tried to entice you with creative and witty designs so you would visit their place of establishment.

Some signs are very humorous and others are just obnoxious. I tried to find unique signs, that have a unique design and message. Today’s signs lack both. Long lost are the metal and neon Architectural giants of the past that drew you to them with their enormous size and beauty.

As these signs age and rust they have become pieces of art today.
Their beauty from the past has become even more beautiful as they age.
As the rust sets in and the neon stops working, art is created as age takes its toll. Frank Short sees a beauty in these long lost signs that he has captured in is work today.

There is an urgency to photograph as many of these signs as possible, because they are being rapidly taken down one by one.
Many of the signs you see in Franks work are gone today.

His work becomes more valuable with each day passes. These signs are a dying breed, eventually going to be extinct. As he photographs these signs, not only is he recording a piece of history and architectural value,
but is creating new art out of the old.

Join him as he photographs his "Signs Across America".