Topics in Light-Based Media
Topics in Light-Based Media #1
Welcome to your first class at Western Neon School of Art. Everyone who comes through our doors has some sort of tie to the medium of neon, and we want to know yours. In this class, we hope to not only teach you the basics of glass bending but also encourage a deeper understanding and appreciation of light-based media. After all, neon is more than just a beer sign in a local bar. It’s the tangible form of an ethereal cosmic presence, space gas enclosed in an illuminated tube. Lust for Light, a beautifully-design book by Hannah Stouffer, approaches light-based media in this way and captures elegant examples of illumination in art. The book features many light artists including our Executive Director Dylan Neuwirth. We have the book in our studio, so feel free to flip through it when you’re here or you can purchase it on Amazon if you’re interested in reading more.
Topics in Light-Based Media #2
This week, we’re focusing on how to take a neon piece from start to finish by using a well-made pattern. Our demonstration piece is All My Friends, an illuminated sculpture designed and installed by our Executive Director, Dylan Neuwirth at MOM, the Museum of Museums. These kind of pieces don’t come from thin air; the finished product is one part of a multi-step process and planning is important. Now that you’ve worked with glass firsthand, you can begin to work on your own patterns and point toward an installation of your own.
Topics in Light-Based Media #3
You probably know Chihuly as a glassblower, but you might be surprised to learn he’s been using neon in his artwork since the seventies. The installation pictured was shown at an exhibition at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. As we’ll be covering assembly of neon pieces today, take a look at how the work is installed. Each colored line is a separate tube. Think about how they might be joined together, what holds them up, how power is supplied — we’ll go over it in class, but come with your own ideas so we can discuss them as a group.
Topics in Light-Based Media #4
Lisa Schulte, also aptly known as the Neon Queen, is a legend in the neon industry. In addition to being a neon artist, she has owned and operated LA-based neon shop Nights of Neon for over thirty years. In her personal work, Lisa focuses on abstract, organic designs. Her series with wood is particularly beautiful and a great example of how you could incorporate your tubes in with other items. She also works a lot with color, our topic of the week. Working with colored glass is much different to the clear tubes you’ve been working with in this class, and in this demonstration we will go over the differences between the two and how to achieve certain colors. If you continue on to take our Intermediate class, you’ll have the ability to work extensively with colored glass.
Topics in Light-Based Media #5
As we near the end of our six weeks together, you should be thinking about your final “silhouette” project. Draw some inspiration from Keith Sonnier’s Portals exhibition as you think about how you might want to display your artworks. Sonnier embraces the hardware in this show with obvious GTO and transformers. His work is simple lines and incorporates no backings or other objects. How would you like your work to look or not look like this?
Topics in Light-Based Media #6
For the truly adventurous mind or seeker of new vistas, Art and Electronic Media is both a book published by Phaidon and a fantastic online resource for all things based in creativity and technology. Use this for inspiration or inform your next project.