front cover of Flickering Light
Flickering Light
A History of Neon
Christoph Ribbat
Reaktion Books, 2013
Without neon, Las Vegas might still be a sleepy desert town in Nevada and Times Square merely another busy intersection in New York City. Transformed by the installation of these brightly colored signs, these destinations are now world-famous, representing the vibrant heart of popular culture. But for some, neon lighting represents the worst of commercialism. Energized by the conflicting love and hatred people have for neon, Flickering Light explores its technological and intellectual history, from the discovery of the noble gas in late nineteenth-century London to its fading popularity today.
 
Christoph Ribbat follows writers, artists, and musicians—from cultural critic Theodor Adorno, British rock band the Verve, and artist Tracey Emin to Vladimir Nabokov, Langston Hughes, and American country singers—through the neon cities in Europe, America, and Asia, demonstrating how they turned these blinking lights and letters into metaphors of the modern era. He examines how gifted craftsmen carefully sculpted neon advertisements, introducing elegance to modern metropolises during neon’s heyday between the wars followed by its subsequent popularity in Las Vegas during the 1950s and '60s. Ribbat ends with a melancholy discussion of neon’s decline, describing how these glowing signs and installations came to be seen as dated and characteristic of run-down neighborhoods.
 
From elaborate neon lighting displays to neglected diner signs with unlit letters, Flickering Light tells the engrossing story of how a glowing tube of gas took over the world—and faded almost as quickly as it arrived.
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front cover of Neon
Neon
Ellen Moody
J. Paul Getty Trust, The

The first of its kind, this authoritative open-access volume offers tips, guidelines, and best practices on preserving, installing, and storing neon artworks.

Neon lighting first emerged as a cutting-edge technology in the late nineteenth century, illuminating the night sky with bright, colorful commercial signage. Artists soon began to test its potential, and figures like Chryssa, Bruce Nauman, Dan Flavin, Mary Weatherford, and Glenn Ligon created iconic works that established neon as a legitimate artistic medium. As the earliest neon artworks approach one hundred years old, their conservation becomes ever more important. Unfortunately, the practice of preserving light-based art is absent from most conservation training programs. This publication fills that gap, offering an invaluable resource for conservators, collectors, preparators, and anyone else with a professional involvement with, or just curiosity about, neon artifacts.

Ellen Moody and Taylor Healy, conservators working with light- and time-based art, have created a comprehensive manual to serve as a practical tool kit for the installation, preservation, and storage of neon art. They provide foundational knowledge on history, technology, terminology, and best practices, along with step-by-step instructions, real-world case studies, and templates for documentation and identification. The online version of the publication is enhanced with informative, practical videos that give hands-on guidance on repairs and maintenance. This is an indispensable compendium for anyone actively engaged with or interested in the preservation of neon.

The free online edition of this open-access publication is available at getty.edu/publications/neon/ and includes zoomable illustrations, videos, and downloadable appendices. Also available are free PDF and EPUB downloads of the book.

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