Conceived of in 2000 and begun in earnest a year later, Signifier, Signed inevitably now includes participants who have passed on. I'm grateful for their inspiration and for this opportunity, however tenuous, to have connected with them. Many truly are my heroes. May they rest in peace.
Studs Terkel (1912–2008)
Preview: City Pages
Promoting the project's exhibition debut at Law Warschaw Gallery, arts writer Sheila Regan penned the piece, "Michele Bachmann, Yoko Ono, Billy Bragg: Paul Schmelzer's super odd and amazing signature collection."
"Paul Schmelzer: Signifier, Signed" Opens March 23 at Macalester College
Macalester College's Law Warschaw Gallery hosts the first ever public exhibition of Signifier, Signed March 23 through 29, 2017.
See the signatures, participate in an interactive project on celebrity, and read a commissioned essay on the project by Ben Davis, artnet News critic and author of the book 9.5 Theses on Art and Class. And don't miss the companion exhibition, Don Celender: Destiny of a Name and Other Works, by the late conceptual artist and longtime Macalester faculty member, in the Janet Wallace Art Center's Second Floor Lounge.
Opening Reception
Art Gallery and Art Commons
Thursday, March 23, 2017
7–9 pm
Reader's Digest
One of five "Utterly Bizarre Collections That Will Make Your Stamp Collection Seem Quaint," Signifier, Signed was featured in Reader's Digest's online and print editions in April 2016.
BBC London Radio
"What's your favorite 'Paul Schmelzer,' Paul Schmelzer?" Special thanks to Gaby Roslin of BBC London 94.9 for inviting me to discuss the project during for her show's weekly "Collector's Corner" feature.
Mention: The Mammoth Book of Weird Records (book)
"Largest Celebrity Autograph Collection... Signed With His Own Name" (author Jim Theobald), Jul. 7, 2015
Minneapolis Star Tribune
The great (and, tragically, late) Kristin Tillotson penned the feature "May I have my autograph?" for the Minneapolis daily, coming out, fittingly enough, on my birthday.
Link: Secrets of the City
"Bachmann Signifies, Schmelzer Signs," Feb. 17, 2010
Link: Neatorama
"Man Collects (Own) Autographs of Famous People," Jan. 26, 2007
Link: GOOD.is
"Sign, Cosign," Jan. 12, 2007
Link: Kottke.org
"Paul Schmelzer's project to collect autographs of his name," Nov. 30, 2005
Cabinet Magazine
The first big press on the project, Brooklyn-based Cabinet magazine ran a feature, sharing signatures by Billy Bragg, Laurie Anderson, Kim Gordon, Fats Domino, Frank Gehry, and others. The issue's theme: "Failure."
