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Slice took the photo here and wondered what the story was behind this sign, which is part of a series of alternating signs in the window of a Union Street home in Park slope. Well, our buddy at the NSA owed us a favor, and we tracked down the man behind the cryptic signage.
His name is George Horner; he’s an administrator at Tony Shafrazi Gallery and has been putting his signs in the window since he bought the house in 1991. Speaking to us by phone, he dispelled the mystery:
It’s kind of in the Keith Haring tradition of using the streets as an art gallery, except in this case it’s my house. I have them made in the style of posters for Chicago blues bands, which I collected for a while before deciding to make my own. I actually contacted the company via their number at the bottom of those posters: Tribune Showprint. It’s the oldest continual poster making company in the U.S., been in business for like 150 years. Real old school flatbed press company.Horner pays a couple bucks a poster and orders them in batches of 25. The text usually comes from things he hears in casual conversation. Some past hits included “It's nice out. I think I'll keep it out.” and “Poor me, poor me, pour me a glass of beer,” which prompted one passer-by to ring his doorbell and ask what time the bar opens. The text in the current sign, above, comes from a neighbor who was riffing on a previous sign, which came from something Horner’s dad wondered during the Gulf war: “If Iraq attacks Turkey from the rear, will Greece help?”
But most of the time when people say, “I’ve got a great idea for a poster!” it’s not. It’s really not. I know a lot of people that would consider it a great honor if I did a poster using something they said, and they’re always suggesting things. I don’t know exactly what it is that makes it poster-worthy, but part of it for me is cathartic. My brother once threw away all my art work that I was storing at my parents’ house. And when I confronted him, he laughed and said, “Oh, man, I gave you a retrospective at the city dump.” So that became a poster, and I thought, “Well, that was fucked up but at least I got a poster out of it.”
Most people like the posters, and some people who ring my doorbell asking to buy the poster get a free one. Once in a while I get a negative comment. One person thought the “If Iraq attacks Turkey from the rear, will Greece help?” poster was homophobic. It’s just a joke! Another woman was confused by it and thought it was making fun of Greek people, so I had to explain it was a play on words.They’re not really very offensive; if anything they’re naughty. My wife accuses me of being a bad boy a lot of the time; that’s the spirit of them, being a naughty little boy telling an off-color joke. But more than that, it’s usually about family, trying to make sense of things, like the poster I made out of one thing my mother used to say when she was in High School in Oklahoma. She must have been a wild child because it was something like: “Hurts so good, stop it again, quit it some more, pull it out deeper.” And I’m like, “Woah. Mom, you said that?”
That one I don’t put up in the windows too often because it’s a little too sexual. But once in a while you’ll see it.
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“Oh, man, I gave you a retrospective at the city dump.”
that made me sit here and laugh for two minutes.
Thanks so much for this profile. I've been walking the Union St. route from the R train for fifteen years and have enjoyed seeing Mr. Horner's contributions to our neighborhood (my personal favorite: "don't let the doorknob hit you where the good lord split you.") It's just another one of those art-in-public-places experiences that adds to the quality of our lives here in NY.
Thanks! I have been wondering about this guy forever!
Do you guys cover any neighborhoods besides Park Slope?
What excellent agitprop this is. I wish I was among the Park-Slope cognocenti so that I could enjoy them too.
Very nice John! I used to live around the corner from him years ago and was always curious about the signs. Famdoc my fave was also "Don't let the doorknob hit you where the good lord split you."
Nice post, John del Signore. Clears up the mystery. I forgot about the "split you" poster. Heh. I think Mr. Horner should hang this post in his window now.
hobo erectus you need to pay firesign theater for some of the poster i dont know why i did this
The Gothemist neglects to some of Mr. Horner’s most enigmatic quips, which date back to Operation Desert Storm:
Oman, How Crude I Am Saddam You. Israel Scary So Iran. I Scud-Daddled. Syriausly, Hussein In This Insane War?
My bookshop’s window displayed his Satan Is Happy With Your Progress poster to great effect. Several people commented on how disconcerting they found it.
His Welcome To The Dark Ages is prescient and enigmatic.
George, who as an artist is also known for his work in Silly Putty, is a wry guy with great ear, a connoisseur’s appreciation of the odd and an incredibly dirty mind. To be a regular recipient of the results of his finds on the Internet is to be reminded, on a nearly basis, that life is also absurd.
This is amusing? This is worthy of even this much ink? Idon't think so....Man,ONLY in NY...!!
Hi to George! Remember Dan's Myth? It has something to do with whether you still have all your fingers? Felt Wounds? Here is a poster for you taken from a church roadside sign: "Stop, Drop, and Roll, will not work in Hell." I'm gonna get that one tooled in leather on my bible belt! d