Untitled (A 3-95) 1995

This 'Untitled' work was made by Stephen Antonakos using neon in the latter half of the twentieth century. It features a series of brightly colored straight neon tubes over a hand-drawn orange ground with a black circle in the upper left corner. Antonakos was a Greek-American artist known for his abstract sculptures and public art installations, often incorporating neon elements. After the second world war, neon light, used for commercial signage, began to creep into art galleries. Some critics dismissed neon works as 'bad taste'. But artists found neon visually exciting, and in its original context, redolent with associations of consumerism and the commercial landscape. In these ways, this artwork can be considered a critique of the commercialization of art and its institutions. Historians might explore Antonakos’ relationship with the New York art scene of the 1960s, and the shift toward more accessible and less elitist forms of art. By researching the history of neon art and the cultural context of the time, we can better appreciate the meaning and significance of this work.