Andy Mack Sr. - Sign Language

The Londonderry Arts Council will be premiering a “socially distanced” art show celebrating The Wit, Wisdom And Sign Art of Andy Mack Sr. from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Saturday, December 12th at Mack’s Apples Farm Market - 230 Mammoth Rd, Londonderry, NH 03053.

Entitled “Sign Language”, the show features road-side signs created over the years by local Icon, Andy Mack Sr. Familiar to area residents who have travelled along Mammoth Road, Andy’s signs have been a fixture of daily life in Londonderry focusing on farming, current events, social issues, and wide range of other topics.

Members of the Londonderry Arts Council were invited by Andy to visit his barn where his workshop and sign collection are located, and representative works were identified and photographed by member Deb Lashua for potential inclusion in the exhibit. Then, selected pieces were curated by Londonderry resident Erin Noonan-Descoteaux, a well-regarded member of the Lowell Massachusetts art community, and installed by a team of Arts Council members. Erin’s husband, Greg Descoteaux, also interviewed Andy about growing up on the Mack family farm, and how his work with signs began and has evolved over the years. His article appears below.

The Arts Council would like to thank Andy for allowing us to interview him and display his wonderful art!

The Wit, Wisdom and Art of Andy Mack

By Greg Descoteaux, Londonderry Arts Council, based on an interview with Andy Mack Sr.

Photography by Deb Lashua, Londonderry Arts Council

When members of The Londonderry Arts Council asked And Mack if we could put together a retrospective display of his signs and artwork he was very reluctant to call it an art show but he was happy that we thought his work was worthy of such and honor.  So what you see are some of the fun, informative and sometimes controversial work that we have seen at and on the Mack Farm making Mack's Apples an important and iconic part of our town as well as a destination for fun and quality local products.

Andy Mack grew up like the generation before him on the farm called Moose Hill Orchard in Londonderry. “We were a wholesale farm at the time the quality of the crop was always good the soil and conditions made for a superior apple.  Some folks would come by to purchase a bushel of apples if they had a basement to store them, but by and large our business was wholesale.”

When he was young, memories of driving the tractor and at low gear as the rest of the crew would pitch hay as he moved it along. He felt happy on the farm and his love for farm life.  “There was little else in Londonderry at the time,  we were mostly a farm town even dairy farms.” his love for art started from a very young age as he recalls  “I remember the Art Teacher was one of the borders at our home, she was young and such a beautiful spirit”.  “I always loved to draw and trees were always in the picture along with some streams and mountains,” “I must have seen some paintings from the early American masters who did those beautiful landscapes that always made feel like I wanted to paint like that”. “I never actually was able to do that kind of work but I always loved it.”

When Andy was in High School he was tasked to put up a small Upick and retail area off Mammoth road very near where the family home still stands just north of the current farm stand. Andy quickly realized, “I needed to make some signs for the retail stand,” and that was the start of discovering his niche.

Andy’s signs and paintings that are displayed show a wonderful combination of directional Upick locations, and products currently being featured at various times throughout the season. Events that have happened here over the years are chronicled with both fun and whimsey. Being open all year the Holidays have also been a big part of the Mack's Apples experience. Signs that announced wreaths and kissing balls for sale harken back to a simpler time of life in New England.

The open land of the Farm has been used over the years for walking and ski trails and sledding on the hill behind the farm stand and feeding the geese by the small pond beyond the parking space. Andy felt that sharing his love for the land would allow towns people to enjoy and develop a sense of respect for what farm life could offer.

As he continued to work his studio space evolved to make working with these large 4 X 4 and 4 X 8 foot pieces and manipulating them more manageable as he would lay them out and paint each side. Blocks of different sizes are used to lay out the text so he would have a better idea of how much space he needed for the written message and how much space he would have to add his special touches that make the signs uniquely his. “It just grew out of necessity and searching for ways to make it easier for me to do the work.”

Over the last twenty years or so Andy’s signs also commented on a major concern over the changing weather patterns which directly affect the running and management of the farm. Mack has also been a stopping ground, hosting many candidates for Presidential, Senate or Gubernatorial races and his signs began to show political messages. Andy began to use the space to create messages of change as the political landscape has changed, he found himself aligning with the Democratic Party and the many issues that have become a motivating force for his sign work.

“I’m not comfortable calling myself and artist”, Andy confesses but we think it’s a term that applies quite nicely for this man who has given so much to our town through his wit wisdom and yes, his art.