Brush Master, deeply rooted / featuring Jasper "Mississippi Travis, Bursh Master; with contributions by Klye Long, Douglas Kearney, Sam Roberts, Tatjana Rebelle.

Chicago, Illinois : Half Letter Press, 2018.

43 pages : color illustrations ; 22 cm

"Jasper "Mississippi" Travis, who paints signs under the name Brush Master, describes his start and evolution as a sign painter, as well as the philosophy behind his approach. In the center-spread, artist and poet Douglas Kearney uses his own lettering and design scheme to reflect on the cultural significance of the Brush Master. In a short but unusually rich essay titled "Drum machines have no soul: the enduring appeal of hand-painted signs" writer Sam Roberts contextualizes the Brush Master's work within the history of sign painting and supplies a smart guide to recommended reading and viewing for those who want more. Finally, Tatjana Rebelle, a writer and activist who grew up seeing signs by the Brush Master around Indianapolis, crafts verses inspired by his work. Rather than reprinting photos of these signs, Kyle Long's original photos were rendered as illustrations by these brilliant designers, along with geometric abstractions of Brush Master sign locations. The result is a three color RISO-printed production that hopefully feels true to the spirit of the source material." -- Publisher's description

English

June 14, 2018