Design

The Handpainted Signs of Cambodia

Joel Montague’s book chronicles the nation’s artful signage

Published

9 years ago

November 6, 2014

Steve Aust Signs of the Times November 2014 Issue

Last year, Sam Roberts, a British writer with a passion for handcrafted signage, introduced us to the distinctive artistry of Cambodian handpainted signage. Now, through his Ghostsigns blog, he’s introduced us to Joel Montague’s book, Cambodian Shop Signs, which again celebrates the artistry of the small Southeast Asian nation’s signage. During the mid-1970s, when Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge’s Communist regime took over the country, the government took draconian measures to squash entrepreneurship and force the nation to become a collectivist, agrarian society. After the regime was toppled, the sign artisans were able to resume craft. Today, signpainers compete with inkjet-print providers instead of despotic leaders, but there’s still signficiant demand for handpainted signs.

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