Animated Neon Eye for Simon Moretti

I was recently approached by the artist Simon Moretti to re-appraise a piece he had previously had made of a single neon eye and he was looking to add an additional layer of neon and animate the two together. Simon sent me the visual below as a guide to what he was looking to achieve.

The glass used was 10mm White 3500K for the lashes and lower eye and 10mm standard green for the iris on the first layer with 10mm White 4500K and 10mm Super Blue iris on the second layer.

The two separate eyes were mounted using 70mm high tube supports for the outer layer, with the same tube supports cut down to 25mm for the lower bottom layer.

In these photos I have rigged the piece up on my bench over the installation drawing to check that it all fits together correctly.  The electrodes and joining pieces of glass were painted out in a grey paint.

This picture shows the two separate transformers and two way flasher unit that was used to animate the two eyes.

 

A short video of the neon piece flashing from one channel to the other to check and adjust the speed of flash.

Tristin Lowe's Comet: God Particle at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

 Tristin Lowe's Comet: God Particle, 2011, Glass, neon, aluminium 

On a recent trip to Richmond, Virginia, I was lucky to stumble upon Tristin Lowe's Comet: God Particle, on loan to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

A beautifully executed piece of neon sculpture that I had been aware of since it's inception several years ago, it was a pleasure to be able to see the piece full size and close up, in all it's glory.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has a fantastic and varied permanent collection as well as a diverse calendar of exhibitions and is well worth the visit.

Mona Hatoum's "Hot Spot" at The Tate Modern

 Mona Hatoum's "Hot Spot" , stainless steel and neon tube, Artist's Edition 2013

Following the installation of Mona Hatoum's "Hot Spot", at the  Centre Pomidou last year, her retrospective exhibition covering 35 years, has now moved to the Tate Modern in London where once again myself and Pete spent three days in mid April, slowly attaching the forty seven neon sections and wiring up the ten transformers.

"Hot Spot" is one of 88 exhibits that are on show until 21st August 2016, after which it will be travelling to the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki. Get down there and have a look.

I'm In Love With The Modern World

D J Roberts, "I'M IN LOVE WITH THE MODERN WORLD", 2014, neon on steel frame.

Last week saw the installation of D J Roberts latest neon piece, "I'M IN LOVE WITH THE MODERN WORLD" on show at the 99p Stores, 259 High Street, Walthamstow, London E17 7BH.

The letters are 305mm (12 inches) high and the whole piece is 8000mm (26 feet) long. 15mm diameter clear glass was used, filled with neon gas, using 80m/A electrodes and running from three 50m/A transformers. The glass has then been mounted onto three seperate 20mm steel box sections frames, each measuring 2700mm x 200mm. 

The project has been organised by Walthamstow Forest Street Gallery Project and is curated by Ashley McCormick. D J Roberts neon art work is on show until April 2014. Get down there.

All of these beautiful photographs were taken by Charles Milligan. Many thanks.

Before you pay a visit to this wonderful spectacle, be sure to listen to Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, "Roadrunner" (1974)

And when you've listened to that, listen to and watch this... the Modern Lovers, "Roadrunner" (1972)

love neon neon love

These are the first sections off the pump from D J Roberts new neon art piece, "I'M IN LOVE WITH THE MODERN WORLD". 15mm clear red, 305mm cap height.

More photos to follow after a January installation at the 99p Store in Walthamstow.

Neon Sculpture, "Flow" at The Old Fire Station, Oxford

Last week saw the installation of "Flow", a three dimensional neon sculpture at The Old Fire Station, Oxford.

"Flow" is the culmination of many months of work for Mary Branson and Jono Retallick, collaborating with the homeless charity Crisis Skylight at their Oxford headquarters in The Old Fire Station Arts Centre, Oxford.

The initial breif was to produce a small, four metre long, three dimensional neon sculpture, made up of two, two metre sections of neon to hang in the entrance hall of The Old Fire Station, Oxford. After some early discussions the overall length of the piece was increased from four to fourteen metres and comprising of seven, two metre sections of 15mm White 6200K 1A glass.

Colin Booth's "Jesus Wept"

 

Colin Booth's "Jesus Wept" 2012, neon and steel

 

Jesus Wept, Colin Booth's neon text installation, located in The SPACE, King's Road, St. Leonards on Sea, East Sussex TN37 6DY and on view from 14th December 2012 - 8th January 2013.

 

Jesus Wept is the shortest verse in the King James Bible, describing Jesus' sorrow at the death of his close friend Lazarus and the pain of his greiving sisters, Mary Magdalene and Martha. Arriving too late to save him and deeply moved by their despair, he wept for the fate of mankind and chose to raise Lazarus from the dead.

 

With a lower case cap height of about 260mm, Sign-Tec 10mm White 1D was used with cut down 50R90 electrodes and then filled with blue gas.

 

All the neon was dipped rather than hand painted to provide a thicker and more even paint coverage and then mounted onto a 20mm steel box section frame. The whole piece runs on two 25m/A transformers totalling 13Kv.