The Giant Robot 2 (GR2) Logo and Neon
This deserves a back story.
I've been a fan of Deanne Cheuk who's involved in graphics, design, and textiles. She once published a mini-book of art called Neomu which retailed for $1. People would scurry for it, and I was honored that GR was one of the shops that sold it. She later became the art director of Tokion Magazine and I'll assume still lives in New York City. I know she had a kid a few years ago and I'll hope she's doing well.
11 or so years ago, I asked her if she wanted to do a logo for our upcoming gallery shop GR2, and she quickly turned in some brilliant designs with exciting curves, and one of them was the clear winner. Her spoils for the job? A sushi dinner, whatever products we made with the GR2 logo, and my eternal thanks. That's the origin of the curvy GR2 logo. It's by a great designer and the logo still looks fresh. (http://www.deannecheuk.com)
A few years ago, the GR2 neon stopped working. It was a transformer problem. The fella who built it all, Ross Waldberg, once did neon and glass art and now drives trucks across the country. I held off on fixing the sign, but for some reason, felt the need to repair it. Last week, I tracked Ross down and caught him while he was back in LA. After a couple of hours and working through corroded screws, he put everything back together and it lit like new.
Ross was going to work on the Giant Robot Store sign that's also having some problems. He actually refurbished the electricity on it over a decade ago, after the first "sign guy" built it to start a fire. He said he could use the money, but instead, Ross opted out and found me a talented and trustable neon person. I told him that I didn't want anyone else working on the neons, but it was his time. "I'm too old to get on ladders," is one of the last things he told me. He basically "retired" from neon signs after fixing GR2. I'm honored.
As you're reading this, Ross is back on the road driving to Texas. I told him to be careful of the truck stops, and he came back with, "Lot Lizards? They're ugly". We'll miss Ross' visits.
