Public-Commercial Art in Philadelphia

In his early career, Andy Warhol worked as a New York City window dresser, arranging commercial storefront displays for Bonwit Teller as did Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Commercial window dressing is an art form and most storefronts outside the northeast never taught, learned or practiced this art form. Two consistently successful storefront installations in Roanoke, Virgina are LaDeDa & 310 Rosemont. If Roanoke public, business, professional and commerical storefront all practiced this lost art, tourism would surely rise from this pedestrian form of window browsing.

The image above is an example of window dressing in Philadelphia (not counting the two pedestrians : )). This particular storefront uses oversized photo-graphics and shadow producing text on the glass to create an interesting commercial comment. While not the 'high art form' as practiced by the window artist for Macy's in New York City or LaDeDa and 310 Rosemont in Roanoke, this Philadelphia example is still an enjoyable, effective and powerful form of window art.