3d Neonscapes at Spiva Center for the Arts

Brave New Art – Light, Pixels, Motion
July 17 – September 4, 2009
opening reception Friday, July 17
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

at Spiva Center for the Arts
222 W 3rd St., Joplin, MO 65801
417.623.0183

Suspended by wire in hand-shaped aluminum frameworks, colorful neon tubes of glass sputter and click as people move through the gallery neonscape.

The installation is constantly changing — each individual piece is triggered to cycle on and off by small motion sensors responding to the movements of gallery visitors. Spasms of color illuminate the room and are reflected in the aluminum frames and paintings behind.

As part of Brave New Art at the Spiva Center for the Arts, artist Russ RuBert has installed seven 10-foot tall aluminum sculptures filled with vintage neon. The sculpture environment fills a gallery room 35′ by 18′ and spills out into the gallery hallway and fills the storefront windows.

RuBert says he was inspired by the trillions of electrical synapses that fire within the human brain, triggered by memories, vision, and language. Images or symbols are sometimes jumbled or do not always make sense. Walking though his installation, visitors will see parts of old signs, words, numbers — but fragmented and reassembled in new dynamic constructions.

Neon is most commonly seen assembled in a flat plane and high overhead. These neon constructions by RuBert play with the fragile curves of glass through three-dimensions. Colors of the glass tubing do not indicated what color the neon will radiate when activated, so there is also variation and surprise at the changes.

Once it’s over, the neon will be disassembled for moving and storage, and RuBert says he never creates the same installation twice.