On the streets of Schenectady, New York, Ron Ladouceur is on a mission to uncover ghost signs, faded advertisements painted on brick walls. These remnants of the past often go unnoticed, but for Ladouceur, an adjunct professor of marketing at the University at Albany, they are windows into history. "It's very much a ghost," he said, describing how these signs seem to appear from alleyways and other buildings, sparking an obsession to find more.
While some signs promote well-known brands like Coca-Cola and Ivory Soap, many advertise companies and products that no longer exist. These signs often have multiple layers, painted over time, making them difficult to decipher. "Many of them have been painted in layers," Ladouceur explained, "because they were a good advertising spot."
One artist, Craig Winslow, is bringing these ghost signs back to life through his "Light Capsules" project. Using projection mapping, Winslow recreates what these signs might have looked like in their prime. "It's one night we are, like, conjuring up all of this magic energy and opening this time portal," he said. Winslow researches each sign extensively, utilizing archival images and old directories to understand the various layers before projecting them onto the walls.
For purists like Ladouceur, repainting a ghost sign would destroy its spirit. Instead, he believes these signs should be left as fading reminders of the past. "They just form this nice historical layer," he said. "We cannot just visit a city; we can visit that city in time."