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26 September 2003

To whom it may concern,

Firstly, I'd like to say that it would be great if there were some kind of forum on your site that JP folks like myself could post our thoughts on this issue instead of writing blindly to this e-mail address. Honestly, I think this issue is so absurd that to take time out of my busy day to respond to it makes me snicker at myself.

I am a graphic designer who lives and works in JP. I have designed many signs for businesses and worked closely with sign companies to be able to remain in the guidelines of whatever particular regulations the town or city has regarding signage. As a designer, I absolutely agree that the sign is garish, obnoxious, but above all, poorly designed. Does this make it worthy of citizens protesting it, creating websites, and rallying to 'gently' deface it for a photo opp? I think not...Unfortunately, there are no rules against bad taste. I think that
is where your 'campaign' misses it mark. Is the Gentle Dental sign really any less offensive than the bright pink and orange Dunkin' Donut's sign that juts nearly 50 feet in the air? Or the two huge billboards on top of Boomarangs? Do you really walk down Center Street and say, wow, what an aesthetic visual treat! You state that the new
Gentle Dental does not respect the character of the neighborhood. Jamaica Plain is ethnic and diverse and as much as I do not like the sign, in some strange way it actually fits into this neighborhood, but maybe does not fit into a place you are trying to create. The definition of gentrification is not so nice, after all, for half of the equation. Gentrification: "The restoration and upgrading of deteriorated urban property by middle-class or affluent people, often resulting in displacement of lower-income people."

The simple fact is, that if the sign does not meet city zoning regulations, it should be removed, re-done, whatever. Making it a symbol for what JP stands for seems a little bit like witch hunt, but I guess that's what we New Englanders do best.

CGE

Dear Chris,

Firstly, yes, absolutely, a bulletin board of some kind would be excellent. Problem is that I don't know how to do that and, as you say, this issue isn't worth that much attention. If you know how to do it, and want to, go for it - I can give you the passwords to the site or figure out how to upload whatever pages/programs you have to write for a bulletin board system.

Secondly, yes, yes and of course. There are plenty of other signs in JP that are as bad or worse - and they equally bug me. All I know is that this one is new, and, as such, it freshly offended me. Offended me to the point, for who knows what reason, that it just irritated me every time I went by it. The fact that I couldn't seem to "get used to it" and "get over it" motivated me to at least write a few letters as some sort of attempt at exorcising my irritation. Once I went through the effort to find out all the contact information, sign permit status and sign regs for myself, I felt like I might as well share the information with anyone else that might have been wanting to write a letter but just hadn't gotten around to tracking down the addresses yet. (**I'll attach at the bottom an e-mail I got from just such a person....)

The web site took about an hour to put together - and the idea for the whole "art" thing came out of a fit of hysterical amusement and conjecture. I find it interesting that, in spite of the way it was slapped together, it seems more like a campaign to others than just an irritated neighbor airing their grievance out loud. I guess that's probably a result of my over-dramatic nature (as my husband and friends would undoubtedly agree).

I think your comments are great, and I would definitely love to have this set up in some way that people could actually share their ideas with others. While I readily admit that, as you say, the letter may have been "off the mark," it would be interesting to get a discussion going about what might be "on the mark" in terms of the kinds of things that people feel are important in their environment. Your sentence about how "in some strange way it actually fits into this neighborhood, but maybe does not fit into a place you are trying to create" was particularly poignant for me. It caused me to re-evaluate my perspsective of JP, and also to be a little more self-reflective. (Never a bad thing!) So please, if you know how to do the bulletin board thing, let me know.

In the meantime, thanks for jogging my brain and being an active thinker and articulate writer!

Cheers!

Caryn

P.S. Chris, Maybe you could offer to design them some better signage and get some business out of it for yourself??

P.P.S. The following e-mail came earlier today:

Dear Caryn L. Anderson,

I am writing to thank you for taking the time to protest the new Gentle Dental sign. It is, as you say, very out of place in our community -- strikingly so. I have been thinking of writing a letter to the Gazette, but haven't done so yet. I will write to some of the contacts you list on your Web site.

People like you make our neighborhood a better place!

Sincerely,
John

Response from Chris:

Caryn,

Thanks for your response, It's great to hear your thought process behind this...I'd love to redesign the sign!

I don't know much about city planning, historical societies, and zoning laws, but it seems to me, some one should really be thinking about how each addition to the cityscape influences the overall nuance and vibe of an urban neighborhood. Take Charles Street on Beacon Hill for instance, a business their must have an 'antique' feel to their signage, carved in wood gold leaf. etc...and neon? never in a million years...Let's face it, the more affluent communities are the ones that protect themselves. They are happy to have the not so pretty things where the people with less money, i.e. hispanics, african americans, etc. live. Of course, we get to have the great Victorian Mansions here!

Any how, as I said, I think it's great to beautify our community, but it is a very fine line to walk...I just think the issue is a lot bigger than that particular sign. Not to harp on this, but in college I remember learning about how billboards (the most obnoxious signage) is only placed in poorer ethnic areas....the reason why that Gentle Dental sign would never be place in Back Bay or Beacon Hill goes very deep if you choose to examine it. Any how, blah blah blah, I guess this really got me thinking which is a good thing.

Oh, I actually do design websites, but never a chat forum, just thought it might be nice to see...maybe someone else will volunteer their services.

Best,

CGE


****Well, I figured out a guestbook system at least... it's not a threaded bulletin board, but it's something: