Vort Man Installs Beautiful New Hydro Dipped Signs in Pennsport

Words and photos by Streets Dept Contributor Eric Dale

Vort Man, a street artist with on-again off-again ties to Philly, came through the city this week and put up a number of new works of art! I joined him for a walk through Pennsport, where he installed four “bolt-ups,” or installations mounted directly onto sign posts with nuts and bolts.

Vort Man’s pieces are hydro dipped in abstract spray paint designs, and coated with epoxy resin to protect against scratches and weathering. He told me that part of his impetus for creating these installations is as a penance. Many years ago, he removed a piece of art from the street to keep for himself—before he knew that this is considered very bad form in the street art world. So the many installations he’s put up over the years are a sort of karmic restitution for him.

As far as I can tell, it’s working. At one point, someone parked their car right across the street from where he was bolting a sign on. As he finished and we started walking away, they shouted “beautifying the neighborhood?” “Yeah,” he replied, and they gave a thumbs up!

The backs of Vort Man’s sign installations are often covered with stickers from other artists he has traded with, collaborated with, or purchased art from. On this one, you can see stickers by Chris Kelleher, Cash For Your Warhol, Cheer Up, Robots Will Kill, ESPO, and Nosego. You’ll also see that the bolts have been hammered down—most street artists who work in this medium do this so their installations can’t be removed. Unfortunately for Vort Man, this means buying a hammer every time he flies, because he can’t bring one in his carry-on!

Vort Man was very happy to be putting up pieces in Philly again. In the city where he currently lives, all forms of non-commissioned art are considered felonies. Felonies! He made the personal decision years ago that those stakes were too high. But luckily for us, he still very much enjoys putting up his art when he travels! Thank you, Philly, for being so friendly to street art!

Besides signs, Vort Man has been making a collage a day for more than eight years now. You can see that project on his Instagram.