Neon Art – Art objects with euphoric luminosity

Neon immediately conjures up images of seedy bars, nightclubs, and advertising slogans in our mind's eye. Neon signs have been all the rage in recent decades and have become a major part of both culture and art .

The euphoric light of neon has captivated the art world since the 1930s. Media artists of the early 20th century already used luminous tubes for their technological innovations, and contemporary artists for their bold lettering.

Even in the art world of the 21st century, numerous contemporary artists use this lighting technique abstract neon objects , neon paintings, light paintings and neon sculptures .

Andy Warhol once described the noble gas as "one of the great modern things" . Since then, neon continues to attract considerable attention, even more than 100 years after its discovery.

The noble gas neon

While many of these works of art have attracted considerable attention, the material composition of neon remains largely opaque to science.

The ambiguity surrounding neon begins on a semantic level: most neon signs do not contain neon gas. Each noble gas produces a unique hue when enclosed in glass and subjected to electricity: neon is orange-red, helium is peach-colored, argon is lavender, krypton is white-gray, and xenon is gray-blue.

Neon , the classic color associated with red -light districts the first noble gas used in commercial signage in 1910. Its natural color shines five times brighter than an incandescent bulb in daylight and consumes fewer watts, making it an instant success in the advertising world of the time.

, argon's popularity grew due to the gas's versatility. While the delicate lilac hue of argon alone cannot effectively illuminate a sign in daylight, the gas, when combined with a drop of liquid mercury, glows an intense electric bright blue.

The neutral hue of this icy blue allows argon gas, in combination with various phosphor-coated or colored glass tubes, to produce a wide range of colors.

What is Neon Art?

Neon art medium that uses neon light to create visually stimulating art forms, often incorporating movement and interactivity. As a genre, neon art is still evolving, with new techniques and technologies opening up new possibilities every year.

Neon is one of the noble gases and shares a number of properties with the other gases: argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. Of these, only neon and argon are commonly used in neon art. When a noble gas is bombarded with electrons by passing an electric current through it, its atoms are knocked out of their orbits. When the atoms absorb the electrons, the resulting energy is emitted as light.

When creating neon art, most artists bend the glass freehand, while some rely on the type of templates commonly used in the production of neon signs. Glass is bent by holding it over a high-temperature flame and rolling it back and forth while pulling it into the desired shape.

Neon art takes two main forms . In the first case, neon tubes are the exclusive medium of the artworks. Often, these pieces resemble traditional neon signs to which a subtle message has been added as an artistic form of expression.

In other cases, the work can freely shaped , sometimes without any narrative structure, and expresses itself through the gentle curves and vibrant colors for which neon light is suitable.

Another style of neon art uses neon light in combination with traditional media or everyday objects. This style tends to make a political statement rather than focusing solely on the form and color of neon. Neon art has produced some significant works that have garnered considerable critical acclaim.

Origin and evolution of neon art

Neon art began in the early 20th century after Sir William Ramsay discovered the noble gas neon in 1898. Sealing the neon in a glass tube produced such a bright light effect that it quickly became popular as an advertising technique and as a medium for enlivening the glamorous scene.

Neon first appeared in Paris in 1910 , and before the First World War, there were already more than 160 neon signs throughout France. Along with neon, argon and sodium were also made to glow thanks to the introduction of electric current. It was the French physicist and chemist Georges Claude who first stabilized the neon process, patented it, and made it known worldwide.

The first large-scale use of neon in Britain took place in a northwest seaside resort known as Blackpool, which has long used light to boost tourism.

In the 1930s, gambling halls and dance venues introduced neon lights to their storefronts; the local spectacle became known as the Illuminations . Now the city enjoys a nightly clash between its luminous promenade and the dark harshness of the Irish Sea.

In 1936, the Czech artist Zdeněk Pešánek neon tubes into his series of glass sculptures of male and female torsos, thus introducing them into the visual arts. The neon tubes emphasized the external form of the contoured human bodies made of glass and simultaneously illuminated the interior of the sculpture .

During World War II, the Nazis made the wider use of neon in European art impossible. Works using neon tubes as a material did not reappear until 1946: Gyula Kosice's "Estructura lumínica Madí 6" was a geometric structure mounted on wood that shimmered in blue light and was exhibited in Buenos Aires. Kosice was a co-founder of the Madí artists' group .

Lucio Fontana , also in Buenos Aires, founded Academia Altamira and published the "Manifesto Blanco ," in which he outlined his theory of "Spazialismo ." In the manifesto, he called for a rejection of traditional materials and a departure from the smooth surface and flatness of the canvas.

The call to engage with spatial themes led not only to his well-known cut-and-slice paintings, but also to his neon drawings in space. In 1951, at the 9th Triennale in Milan, he created “Struttura al neon per la IX Triennale di Milano ,” a structure made of twisted lines of neon tubes suspended from the ceiling. It was the first neon work to forgo any other materials.

Neon Sixties – The Wild Sixties

Although the first use of neon tubes in a clearly artistic context dates back to the 1930s, the 1960s be considered formative for the development of the material in the visual arts. From today's perspective, it would indeed have been highly surprising if the desire for change, which led to the use of various new materials, had not also brought the neon tube back into art.

The French artist Martial Raysse was one of the first artists of this period to work with neon in an artistic sense, pop art portraits with neon accents. This was one of the first instances of bringing neon into the cultural zeitgeist of the 1960s.

From the mid-1960s onwards, artists such as François Morellet , Keith Sonnier, Mario Merz, Maurizio Nannucci, Bruce Nauman , and Joseph Kosuth discovered the neon tube for themselves. To this day, they remain the most famous proponents of neon tube art.

In the 1960s and 70s, neon signs became increasingly associated New York's Times Square Las Vegas without neon signs? Even today, neon lettering and signs – like the neon signage from Neoneverglow – remain an effective tool in the advertising industry's arsenal.

While it had lost its original charm as an artistic neon light, this use of neon inspired progressive artists such as the Americans Joseph Kosuth and Dan Flavin . A fundamental rethinking occurred when visionary artists began to experiment with neon light.

These pioneering artists transformed a commercial mechanism of low culture, associated with the urban kitsch of commercial signage, into a powerful medium of fine art. Their sculptural works explored the intersection of light, color, and space; as well as pop culture imagery, consumerism, and various themes connected to the contemporary living environment.

Joseph Kosuth

In the 1960s, Joseph Kosuth created a variety of language-based neon artworks that offered a visual representation of some of his key ideas.

Joseph Kosuth (born 1945), one of the pioneers of Conceptualism, used neon art to explore the cutting edge of this new artistic movement. With intellectual works like Four Colors Four Words, he clearly and literally articulated what the audience saw. In doing so, Kosuth presented his audience with two simultaneous but distinct realities of color and language, neither more real than the other.

This work was created in 1966 during his studies at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. It explored how literalness could be integrated into the artistic process and production, and contributed to the birth of the Conceptual Art movement. Devoid of emotion and emphasizing art as an idea rather than an object, Kosuth's neon artworks paved the way for other artists to explore the relationship between art, color, and language.

His ingenious visual summaries of complex topics in semiotics and semantics should be among the defining works of this era.

Dan Flavin

Dan Flavin was known for his influential work with fluorescent light in the 1960s.

Dan Flavin's (1933–1996) early works were abstract expressionist drawings and paintings , but these quickly evolved into sculptural pieces incorporating found everyday objects. While working as a postal clerk at the Guggenheim Museum in 1961, he befriended artists Sol LeWitt and Robert Ryman , who encouraged his idea of ​​using electric light in his sculptures.

This original concept was realized and became Flavin's sculptural "Icons" series , which used fluorescent tubes for the first time, marking the beginning of a lifelong artistic career experimenting with light, space, and color. His oeuvre became defined by these iconic, minimalist light works, created using factory-made fluorescent tubes in various colors.

Through his work with neon, he was able to define the noble gas as a valid medium for artistic practice, and over the course of his career he developed more ambitious, larger, site-specific installations. Flavin's pioneering use of fluorescent light made him the father of neon art as we understand it today and inspired the work of influential artists such as Robert Irwin and James Turrell .

Chryssa

Chryssa (1933-2014) was one of the first artists to transform neon from advertising into art. She used neon art as an artistic interface between light, text, and color. Growing up amidst the Nazi occupation of Greece, Chryssa cited the scribbled texts of the underground resistance movement as an early influence on her interest in fragmentary language.

Fascinated by literary symbols and texts, Chryssa's groundbreaking work Times Square Sky a jumble of cursive texts scribbled and swirled in pale blue neon. This theme continued in her The Gates to Times Square , a massive square structure of steel and neon that invited its audience to look around via a large "A".

The MONA in LA.

In 1981, the Museum of Neon Art (MONA) in Los Angeles became the world's first museum dedicated to neon art. in 1981 by artists Lili Lakich and Richard Jenkins MONA was a non-profit art museum. Their aim was to raise awareness about the preservation of historic neon signs and to showcase this electrifying contemporary art form to the public.

The operators view neon as a link between scientific principles and artistic expression. According to their understanding, neon art integrates electrical engineering, creative design, and fundamental concepts of physics and chemistry.

In its more than 30-year history, MONA has significantly promoted awareness of historic neon signage through its LUMENS project with the City of LA and its popular bus tour, the Neon Cruise™ . MONA has witnessed the rise and fall of neon used by the sign industry and its current resurgence as it is used today by creative artists and commercial designers.

To date, they have showcased the work of more than four hundred artists and received much international praise for it.

MONA not only operates a museum, but also offers introductory courses in neon forming and techniques, taught by museum staff and resident artists. In addition, the museum collects kinetic art . The history and technology of neon signage and art are also presented.

Incidentally, you can also get neon signs for your own home at neoneverglow.de , should you not be able to visit the USA in the near future.

Neon Art in the modern art landscape

Artists of past decades have paved the way for neon art to re-emerge as a cool cultural medium in our time. This movement was driven by the Young British Artists , a group of British artists who began exhibiting in the late 1980s.

Tracey Emin

This included the highly successful Tracey Emin , known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Among her most popular pieces are neon signs made in her own handwriting, often featuring quotes about love and feelings.

"I don't think I'm the best visual artist in the world, do I? I have to be honest. But when it comes to words, I have a uniqueness that I find almost impossible to replicate in art – and it's my words that truly make my art unique."

Tracey Emin (born 1963) has worked in many different media: drawing, painting, film, photography, and, of course, neon art. Her neon text series builds on the postmodern aesthetic of the aforementioned artists such as Joseph Kosuth, and in her characteristic cursive script, she scribbles highly personal statements, which are transposed , "Every Man/Woman."

In a mantra-like fashion, Emin's works, such as Fabulous to Feel Beautiful Again or Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Cover My Body in Love, shamelessly embrace kitsch and sentimentality – fearlessly and boldly communicating our very human desires to be loved and cared for. Her neon art allows you to enter her world of raw emotion, offering a space for the liberation and recognition of the intensity of the human experience.

Alongside Tracey Emin, another successful artist who used neon to illuminate her own quotations stood out: Sara Pope represented by the London gallery Imitate Modern

Mark Sloper

Mark Sloper also creates his neon artworks himself, bending glass into fine shapes at a temperature of 500 °C and compressing neon gas inside the tubes. He then uses electrical transformers to aluminize the neon, creating its characteristic glow.

Sloper began his career as a cameraman and cinematographer for bands such as The Police and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. He later worked for the BBC. Mark Sloper has directed and produced many successful documentaries about legendary artists in the music scene, including the Beatles, David Bowie, and the Sex Pistols.

By immersing himself in this world, he met many artists, including the "King of Neon," who inspired him to create his current brand, Illuminati Neon . His original neon artworks have attracted the attention of the global art world as well as many celebrities.

Even the Queen was involved with Illuminati neon artworks. Collectors included Sir Elton John, Sting, and Boy George.

Cerith Wyn Evans also became known for his art installations with chandeliers featuring neon lights, some of which were previously exhibited at London's Tate Britain.

Neon art still holds a prominent place, particularly in Japan and Hong Kong, cyberpunk scene.

Sources used:

• Official homepage of MONA – neonmona.org
• ARTLAND Magazine – magazine.artland.com/neon-art-ten-artists-who-defined-the-medium

• Neon A Light History Book , Authors: Dydia DeLyser and Paul Greenstein, Publisher: Giant Orange Press