In the late-twentieth century Don Shoffstall placed photocopies of unsigned, hand-written pages on random telephone poles in Lancaster. Waves, curls, lines, and words sprawled across sheets of paper. Words and phrases freely flowed in random directions.
At a glance the postings are unintelligible. The scribblings follow none of the conventions of writing or graphic design. The only unifying element is a distinctive cursive style suggestive of abstract expressionism.
The curators of this show, Jerry Greiner and Steve Sylvester, collected and preserved some of the work Shoffstall posted. Here are five of those weathered and tattered postings are displayed in the gallery. Enlargements of the postings, some of which were deconstructed, are also on display to aid in a search for hidden messages
Greiner said the show raises a fundamental question, “We will never know why Mr. Shoffstall shrouded his messages to the community in complex cursive and gothic strokes. Or why he posted his unique work on posts and poles near where people gathered—coffee shops, bus stops, and the like. Combining message, graphic style, and method-of-display is a form of expression—but is this art?
Sylvester added, “Messages, such as these, that come from the fringes of society, are easy to dismiss as meaningless and unimportant. When viewing these postings in a gallery setting will people think society may have overlooked their beauty and failed to grasp their meaning when the postings were encountered hung on posts and telephone poles?
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