What is the red dot?

Upon moving to South Carolina I began to notice red dots on buildings throughout the state. I quickly learned the dots symbolize the retail sale of liquor, but why a red dot?

Upon repeal of prohibition in 1933, many states in the Union were reluctant to immediately resume sales of alcohol. In 1945, due to fierce political battles over alcohol advertising, the South Carolina State Legislature passed a measure strictly limiting liquor advertising to the words “Retail Liquor Dealer” using letters no larger than 3 inches tall.

Shortly thereafter, a Charleston liquor dealer named Jesse J. Fabian hired the sign painter C.A. (Doc) Wansley to inscribe the lettering "Retail Liquor Dealer" on his business. Doc, inspired by the popular Lucky Strike Cigarette Brand, painted a large red dot behind the letters in an effort to draw the attention of those seeking the "hard stuff." By 1949 the symbol of the red dot had become ubiquitous statewide.

And what of the Lucky Strike red dot? The iconic cigarette brand design is attributed to the French born artist and industrial designer Raymond Loewy. Where did he gain his inspiration? As of this writing, the answer to me is unknown but the artist tradition of passing down iconography and symbols lives on.

I adopted the symbol for my genesis fxhash project titled Red Dot. Since that time, I've continued to use the symbol as a signature element in all of my tezos work. I have the fxhash community to thank for inspiring me to create a generative art project and look forward to exploring this new fxtext platform with you all. You can learn more about my work at www.RobertMatheson.com and @Robert_Matheson.