Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Keith Knecht

Through a series of very timely synchronous events we had the opportunity in early August to interview the legendary Keith Knecht. We found Keith in a very unique situation in his assisted living home in Toledo, OH. He explained to us he was going off of dialysis within a few weeks and would pass away soon after. By having the opportunity to tell us part of his story about his life-long romance with signs his story would reach an audience outside his close circle of friends and family.

Keith Knecht: interview

Keith Knecht: interview
Signs of the Times quote from Keith Knecht's cover story, June 1975

Sam, Travis and I left Toledo feeling like we had gained a friend and learned more about sign painting then we thought possible in the 3 hours we spent with Keith and his brother Bruce. We feel greatful to of spent an afternoon in his presence and so thankful to have his voice as a part of our documentary. We were incredibally sadened to hear of his passing when we were in New York shooting on August 25th and suggest you read Keith's obituary honoring his amazing life here.

1 comments:

  1. Hey there!

    JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT YOUR PROJECT;

    Sure wished I knew about it before you made your trip plans. It's a shame you'll skip Colorado. We sure have a bunch of talent here that would be interested interviewing / performing for your cameras.

    I was happy to see that Doc Guthrie is teaching classes in L.A.

    I too want to preserve this exciting craft that's gradually or even, inevitably being pushed aside by technology. I even personally began giving classes for the rejuvenation and preservation of the trade this past April. I was warned that I may become jaded by the experience. But my secondary goal was to try and find younger folks that were R-E-A-L-L-Y interested and who wanted to learn. My first goal was to raise some $$$ for the living history park where I volunteer, however.

    It was afterward that our friend in Canada, Pierre Tardif, threw in the towel and decided NOT to continue his attempt at teaching any more classes. He got frustrated with his students who weren't as ardent as those of us who love the craft. But Now I understand he'll have a video available a little later in the year or early in 2012..

    Anyway, take a gander at my (April,'11) class offering site on the
    www.brushletteringworkshops.com address and there's also a link there for my business website of www.qualitysignsanddesigns.com

    I wish you well on your movie. I'd often wished a documentarian had happened by the living history museum, Rock Ledge Ranch in Colorado Springs where I've performed brush lettering demonstrations every fall for the past 4 years. But, that's history as they say...

    If you want to do a side-trip, give me a call...(719) 683-2890. I can sure give you some more footage!!!

    Respectfully,

    Jeff Cahill; Quality Signs and Designs
    Falcon, Colorado

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