“Along with helium, xenon and krypton, neon was first extracted from the air in the late 1890s. Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers discovered a category of gases missing from the periodic table and the Greek names they assigned to these elements paid tribute to their occult source. Helium refers to the sun, in whose chromosphere it was traced; xenon means strange (as in xenophobia, which warns against foreigners); and krypton implies that the gas is cryptic, in need of decoding. Neon simply identifies something new, enigmatic and unclassifiable.”
–https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/aug/28/100-years-of-neon
It seems to me like the materiality and physicality of neon lights is somewhat comparable to that of analog photography as opposed to digital imaging. Both radiate a certain ethereality or mysticality – the glowing gas of neon tubes, the imprint of light in negatives. But they both have certain restrictions which LEDs or digital technology is able to overcome quite easily. Imagine Mrzyk & Moriceau‘s flowy, constantly morphing video would have been needed to be made with actual handmade neon lights or even as cel animation like Akira. Instead of overcoming physical obstacles it’s imagination that plays a big part of a creative process in the realm of digital technology. And though pretty to look at and very engaging, the mimetic character of the video feels a tad empty, just like Justice‘s song (which, of course, is fine for a pop music video).
Knowing about the impact Berlin had on Ernst Ludwig Kirchner‘s paintings, I wondered if the colours of German Expressionism might have been influenced by the then new neon lights, but as it seems his work predates them, though he does paint them explicitely in a few works of the mid-1920s.
And it was in the mid-1920s, that neon lights became a frequent sight in Berlin and other metropoles. In 1928 Eugene Deslaw made Les nuits électriques, a beautiful film made of city lights and fireworks. The black and white film of course withholds the colours but at the same time reveals a more graphic, somewhat abstract elegance.
Below are some art pieces, installations and a set design using neon (or fluorescent) lights (click the images to see the artist). Interestingly, I didn’t really find more examples of neon lights combined with movement like in some of Bruce Nauman‘s pieces, even though it’s actually a nice effect, kinda like a cameraless, screenless .gif.
And for the holy utilization of neon lights go visit Lourdes, France or stay at home and watch Jessica Hausner‘s beautiful Lourdes {2009}.
KINOXIKON 