Open Studio @ FlechtroNEONics Sunday May 19, 1-5pm
Featuring the work of Linda Sue Price and Michael Flechtner
7712 Gloria Avenue, #4, Van Nuys, CA
RSVP to Flektro@aol.com
LINDA SUE PRICE
“I like to mix form, light, reflection and texture. I do this by layering and adding other elements such as clear acrylic rods and reflective backgrounds. While the viewer cannot know the simple and sometimes complex stories behind each piece, they can reconsider their perceptions of neon and the world around them. When I look at a neon tube, I don’t see a sign even if it is. I see a luminous glow. I want to share the beauty and playfulness of neon.” Linda Sue Price
I have been looking at and admiring neon since I was a child living and traveling through the western states. The intense colors and glow of the motel and business signs appealed to me and I thought they were beautiful. A visit to Las Vegas was always special because of extensive use of neon all over the buildings. There was a palm tree in front of one of casinos that I loved. In Southern California, there were special signs that I looked forward to seeing. Long Beach had a drive-in theatre near the traffic circle that had wonderful neon. Motel signs often had animation. I liked to look at them and try to figure out the animation patterns.
I started working with neon as an art media in 2004. I took a neon class through the Museum of Neon Art taught by Michael Flechtner. I wanted to explore a free form style and he encouraged me to try bending. I began studying the craft of bending with Flechtner in 2005.
Linda Sue Price lives and works in Los Angeles County, California. Price is known for injecting her personal reflections to stimulate emotion and to manipulate how neon is perceived as a medium. She began studying neon as a medium under Michael Flechtner at the Museum of Neon Art beginning in 2004, where she developed her particular technique of bending. Elements of historic neon signs, abstract expressionism, pop art and graphic design influence Linda Sue Price’s work.
Exhibitions include solo shows at TAG Gallery in Los Angeles, California; two-person exhibits at the Fine Arts Building in Los Angeles and several group shows in the Western United States. She serves as an advisory board member for the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale, California.
MICHAEL FLECHTNER
Neon, more properly luminous tube, has been my medium of expression for nearly a decade. It has replaced the paint and sculptural materials I used as a student. I’m ever mindful of the compelling nature of this pure, colored, glowing light and the tendency of many to see “all things neon” as signage or kitsch. It is my experience that the more traditional viewer and critic resist seeing neon as a fine art medium.
My work reflects a fascination with the symbols of language, technology and how they influence popular culture. I describe animals, machinery, etc. and utilize various forms of language. The various “components” inhabit my internal landscape. I bring forth and arrange this highly idiosyncratic material to create pictograms, ideograms and rebuses, surely the effects of my unconscious. Through the creation of these pieces I work through and process personal issues and attitudes. Each piece is a complete record of that process. In spite of this focus on my “inner self”, this work is for everyone. To that end the figures are recognizable and the compositions are “pleasing to the eye.” And if the viewer wants more, they can apply there own meanings and interpretations which I feel are as relevant as my own.
Because many of the pieces are so enigmatic, I post an interpretation. Often the viewer has overlain their own meanings. Because of certain psychological theories, I believe their ideas and interpretations are as pertinent and valid in this exchange as mine.
I do not enjoin others toward a path to perfection, instead I endeavor to live my life consciously in the hope it will become a passive example to others trying to find their particular path. Hopefully the form of my work, not content, will suggest a framework for others. My goal is to continue along this path, passing on method and information. I believe that my work offers the viewer a new way of codifying the world and locating themselves within it. Through the exchange between artist and viewer, we become a little more comfortable to question, enjoy and suspend, even if only for a moment, the struggle we all face in everyday life.
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