Neon is a study of classic neon signs featuring three 1950s-era motels in Wildwood, a popular beach town in New Jersey. Dozens of these motels (with their ubiquitous neon signs) were built in mid-century, but many are no longer standing. Neon combines day and night photographs that I took twenty years ago with a 4x5 camera, with wire sculptures that reproduce the neon tubes of each sign. The wire sculptures are painted in fluorescent colors, vibrating between the black and white photographs.
Eight mylar pages painted with enamel. The book includes paper flaps to allow viewing each page individually.
Thomas Parker Williams lives and works in Philadelphia. His primary areas of work include hand-made artist book editions, printmaking and painting,. Some of his artist book editions contain an audio element – music or sound work – composed, performed, and recorded by the artist. Tom’s artists’ books, paintings and prints have been exhibited in Philadelphia, New York, and throughout the country, and are in numerous private and public collections.