Every now and then for a fleeting moment, I fashion myself as a film noir writer/director. I always start my movie this way:
2am: The drizzle of rain was cold but welcomed, I was walking on a empty dark city street…it was quiet, the rain slicked street glistened with the neon sign of a local bar flashing against the black tar of the night. The only sound that could be heard is the sound of the electricity going through the tubes of the sign and pulsating every few seconds as the sign blinks and strains to turn off and then on again. Seems like a struggle that will continue on for sometime.
The bar has been closed for some time now, the neon lights serve as a reminder that the place exists and I should come back in the daylight. I don’t think so. I have spent my hours this evening on a bar stool at another bar a few miles away. Seems like the flashing neon is a sign to the dark city that it’s time to wash away the troubles of today as a new morn is approaching..this is good news for me..as…..
Then I stop, it’s like I get the noir out of me for a time and I can carry on with my day. A little noir is good for you. Maybe I can't get past this part because I don't really want to, I savor the moment, that feeling of happiness for this minute in time and it's quiet and clean as the rain cleanses as a new day approaches. I don't want to go on and spoil it.
I still one day may write my......
.....I just need to get past the first scene!
I think the neon sign sets the mood, I have always been a fan of neon signs, vintage ones.
I still one day may write my......
.....I just need to get past the first scene!
I think the neon sign sets the mood, I have always been a fan of neon signs, vintage ones.
From Wiki: Neon signs are made using electrified, luminous tube lights that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in December, 1910 by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show.While they are used worldwide, neon signs were extremely popular in the United States from about 1920–1960. The installations in Times Square were famed, and there were nearly 2000 small shops producing neon signs by 1940. In addition to signage, neon lighting is now used frequently by artists and architects, and (in a modified form) in plasma display panels and televisions. The signage industry has declined in the past several decades, and cities are now concerned with preserving and restoring their antique neon signs.
Above is a photo of a 1930's neon sign dealer.
Click on the video below to get a really good sampling of neon art in America
Neon lights in Poem:
Neon Lights
Darkness blankets the Earth,
Streetlights start to glow.
It's nighttime announcing birth,
And to sustain the status quo.
Multi-colored neon signs,
Scream out their words to the night.
Like different colored ancient wines,
That to behold are a delight.
The children of the night arrive,
Amid the glow of the neon lights.
Like busy bees around a hive,
Performing timeless ancient rites.
The world comes to life at night,
The streets overflowing in human flesh.
And underneath those neon lights,
Laughter and lipstick, and nylon mesh.
1/13/11 Alton Texas
Streetlights start to glow.
It's nighttime announcing birth,
And to sustain the status quo.
Multi-colored neon signs,
Scream out their words to the night.
Like different colored ancient wines,
That to behold are a delight.
The children of the night arrive,
Amid the glow of the neon lights.
Like busy bees around a hive,
Performing timeless ancient rites.
The world comes to life at night,
The streets overflowing in human flesh.
And underneath those neon lights,
Laughter and lipstick, and nylon mesh.
1/13/11 Alton Texas
Juan Olivarez
The Las Vegas Neon Boneyard:
People from all walks of life visit the Las Vegas Neon Boneyard. Some are tourists curious about the city’s neon past, while others have a more personal connection to it. The signs may bring back memories of where their parents lived and worked. Film and TV producers regularly use The Neon Boneyard as a location. “CSI” watchers will recall the episode where a body was found hanging on a maintenance rung of a giant “W” that was once part of the Showboat sign. The Neon Boneyard also captivates graphic artists, architects and academics.
People from all walks of life visit the Las Vegas Neon Boneyard. Some are tourists curious about the city’s neon past, while others have a more personal connection to it. The signs may bring back memories of where their parents lived and worked. Film and TV producers regularly use The Neon Boneyard as a location. “CSI” watchers will recall the episode where a body was found hanging on a maintenance rung of a giant “W” that was once part of the Showboat sign. The Neon Boneyard also captivates graphic artists, architects and academics.
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| Some people use the Boneyard for special occasions. |
Some honorable mentions from other parts of the country:
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It's not so much that Neon signs are a resurgent art form, the energy is more in preserving the vintage ones that we have left. I am all for that. If, in my travels I see one of the refurbished vintage neon signs, no doubt I will get into my Noir mood and maybe this time I may even get to page 2!
