very good neon
one of my favorite things to look at are neon light sculptures. there was a time where most lights you saw outside were glass and gas, even behind plastic grocery store letters and deli signs. then LED lights hit the scene and the market for real neon tanked. to some relief, the art world, along with people nostalgic for the warmth of neon, started commissioning neon artisans for work or taking workshops to learn how to do it their own. i fall in the latter group, and i learned this history first-hand from studio owners and incredible artists who generously told me their stories, shared their flames and showed me expressive glass can be. anything that allows expression can also facilitate activism and personal storytelling.
my favorite neon artist who does this is roxy rose. based in california, she's been bending glass since the 1970s, joining her family business. when she was nastily outed by her own brother as trans, her life fell apart and she was alienated by her own family and kicked out of the business. it was through connecting with her community on the internet that she found light in such a dark and isolating time, and the world is literally warmer and brighter for it. the la times did a profile on her a few years ago, which you can and shold read here.
roxy rose standing in front of the back of her red ford f150 pickup truck and attached to its generator is a large american flag with neon across it saying "being transgender, gay, or expressing yourself in any way without the fear of persecution is as american as it gets.” (Chris Behroozian / For The Times)
my glass-bending era was short-lived, but my love for neon never ended. when i was on tiktok i would search daily for neon content and that's how i came across roxy's work. i followed her and commented on a video of her showing off one of her many multi-media pieces, and she followed me back! no matter where you are in your life, or how big or small an audience you have, being positively perceived by someone whose work you admire is so very special.
a blurry phone camera shot of roxy rose's art in a window, i think it's called lady liberty. it's a statue of liberty sculpture with a cloth mask on and the neon on her and around has various messages like "black lives matter", "trans is beautiful", "stop asian hate", "love is love" and "break the binary".
one thing about bending glass is that it's hard to do lettering. it takes a lot of stop-and-go with the glass in the flame, many MANY bends, and a chance that you ruin an entire piece with a final move after all that work. i remember my first instructor, a cis man, made a small sign that said "CUNT" to demo and i thought, that's really all you have to say with your time, and the fire, glass and gas that nature has created for you? there's a lot of attention, intention and meaning behind the words in roxy rose's work, just the physicality of it is moving on its own. but the way she uses her voice and fire to help others feel less alone, as i can only imagine she was during her darkest time, makes for incredible and important art.
trans is beautiful, by roxy rose, who is right.
