Varying between mediums and layers such as oil, acrylic and graphite, Leggett works at high speeds to create gestural marks throughout her paper canvases. These quick but precise markings merge to form elaborate works that can be explored for hours. Bullhead II, for example, gives the viewer an impression of a bull charging head on. Yet, it can also be perceived from the profile of the bull. The abstracted bull accompanied by the vibrant pinks, yellows, and greens on the bottom half of the painting combine to showcase the motion and energy of the figure. Small details throughout toy with the viewers perspective of the image, allowing one the opportunity to get lost within observation.
Akers, on the other hand, is constrained by the nature of the medium, forcing Akers to work at a much slower pace. Glass is a delicate material that requires patience and respect, which Akers demonstrates as he molds the glass tubes to his liking. He forms the sculptures into abstracted forms reminiscent of doodled flowers or squiggled drawings as seen in RaspberryRuby, NovialCandle, AquamarineSunrise, WrapDoodle. His use of color throughout the sculptures varies. Some portions of the sculpture are created using colored glass which creates vibrant, yet stagnant, lines. Other portions feature clear glass tubing which allows the electricity coursing through to be visible. These alternating sources of color and motion in the abstract neon sculpture veers away from traditionally commercial methods of glass production, and results in unique sculptures that bend the rules just as Akers bends the glass.
The final product of Leggett and Akers’ labor are masterful works implementing diverse practices, resulting in elaborate pieces that ask the viewer to linger in appreciation. Both artists bend time and space to create works capable of reflecting the movement, chaos, energy, and possibly the intentionality behind the universe.
Follow along in this Q&A as both artists explore the nuances of their creative headspace, material dialogue, their unique vibrant color palettes and the perspective each of them bring to Light Speed.
James Akers. Fleshtone Burst (Candle), 2022. Neon. 9 x 13 x 13 inches. Available via Artsy.
What headspace do you typically like to be in before beginning/working on a piece? What helps you get into this headspace?
James Akers: Aside from the neon doodles and tangles, my headspace between making and idea development is pretty separate. I am an avid consumer of audio media- from radio, to audiobooks from the library. I practice a sort of digital vegetarianism- shunning centralized social media and the ubiquity of targeted big tech platforms. This along with current events and how I feel about the world fuel the conceptual underpinnings of much of my work.
I am now one of the last neon benders working commercially in NYC. The artistic side and the commercial side feed into each other- with interesting bending sequences popping up to solve signage bending tasks that I like to riff off of later. Commercially, the tubes I make should look like they are made by a machine. To get in this headspace, I immerse myself in my headphones, shutting out the world and entering a blissful flow state of hyperfocus for hours on end. Commercial clients who visit ask to see what machine we use to make the neon- I show them my hands, the paper template and my fires.
The neon doodles and tangles I make are improvisational and super intuitive. Like a jazz musician with tempos, keys and chords, I typically have a game plan before going into them- a certain color palette or feel or effect I am going for or trying out. Boredom arrives easily for me, so I am typically pushing myself out of my comfort zone with these.
"While I used to be content with single color doodles, these days I choose my colors like notes making a chord. The colors are super rich, and the light they emanate blends in the room to make a new color- that spills all over everything."
- James Akers
Do you feel that you are having a dialogue with the materials as you are working? If so, what do you think the materials would say to you if they could speak?
JA: The dialogue I have with the materials is a state of relaxation. The glass demands to be handled with care, and when heated, it needs to be gently caressed like the liquid that it becomes. I maintain a state of calm and relaxation when working- taking my time and being patient- even if the glass I worked on for the past few hours breaks and goes all over the floor. Its easy to curse at it under your breath, but if I get angry and impatient, my day is over. When the tube makes it to the bombarder (the giant purification transformer, sucker and gasser), my heart is racing. Everything must be hermetically sealed- one leak, and air will get in, and I probably wont be able to fix it (start over). The electricity wants to take the path of least resistance- if I fail to prevent it from doing so, the piece will irreparably destroy itself.
When I get the tubes off the bombarder, I sometimes feel like I got away with murder- I feel like I did the impossible. Its a very binary thing- either it works, or it doesn’t, its sealed, or its not. When the tube lights, it emanates its glow all over its surroundings. At the end of the day, when the shop is glowing a bunch of different colors, I feel satisfied. I wanna take it home, to get out an show people! I am just in my element, but some people walk into the studio and say it feels sorta like an industrial nightclub.
I guess to answer your second question, the glass wants to be a shattered pile on the floor, and the electricity wants to just arc straight to ground. If you treat it just right though the glass will guide the electricity, which makes the glass shine, evoking emotion, wonder, and feeling.
Liz Leggett. Bullhead II, 2024. Oil Stick, Acrylic and Graphite on Paper. 51 x 59 inches. Available via Artsy.
Some of the titles for your works can feel random or even a bit dark, how would you say that contrasts with your choices for color palette? Or do you feel they are more analogous? How do you choose your titles and color palettes?
" I like the work to be confrontational and immerse a viewer–at times, even overwhelm them. "
- Liz Leggett
How do you choose the color palettes for your neon sculptures? Are you limited in color choices due to the nature of the medium?
JA: Like colors of paint in a tube, there are a finite amount of colors typically available in the neon industry. Color is one of the things I am typically exploring and playing with, with my palette growing as I move locations and learn more. I certainly have some favorites. Pieces like the Flat Eclipse Sunset, Lil Rainbow Sunrise Bursty, Blacklight Scribble, and the XenonEffetreDoubleRainbow all feature tubing imported from Murano, Italy. The hand pulled gold ruby wrap and the purple coily wrap both have tubing a friend and I pulled in NYC- so I can control the color of the glass myself. The Dr. Seuss Chartreuse Coily Wrap Thang, as well as the wiped and striped tubes are examples of me selectively removing the phosphor powder from the inside of the tubes. Xenon and Krypton coils and doodles feature the rarest of the inert gases on the planet.
With my unconventional methods, I have a bit more control over the gas, glass, and phosphor coating, the three things that bring color to a neon tube. While I used to be content with single color doodles, these days I choose my colors like notes making a chord. The colors are super rich, and the light they emanate blends in the room to make a new color- that spills all over everything.
How do you think your work fits into a space? or rather, how would you like your work to fill a space? What kind of energy do you feel your work could bring into a space?
JA: I like seeing my work lit and on. As far as the feeling in a space, it can depend from piece to piece. Different colors of light can evoke certain moods. Warm white and pink lights feel cozy, warm and inviting- Lil Rainbow Sunrise Bursty, RaspberryRuby, NovialCandle, AquamarineSunrise Wrapdoodle, and the Warm White Cluster are good examples of this.
Meanwhile other pieces emanate an otherworldly glow that shifts a room and everything in it. The blacklight scribble, Dr. Seuss Chartreuse and large purple tangle are all examples of this.
A transformer is needed to light up any neon, and usually one transformer can light two pieces. Just as I select colors of light to blend them like a chord, you can blend the light from two different color doodles by placing them near each other.
James Akers. RaspberryRuby,NovialCandle,AquamarineSunrise, WrapDoodle, 2023. Neon. 9 x 13 x 13 inches. Available via Artsy.
How long does it take to make each painting?How often do you leave pieces and return? Are some more challenging to complete than others?
I then return after a rest–this rest can be minutes or days. Considering the speed at which I work, I need to have numerous paintings and drawings happening at once. If not, I can overwork something quickly. My best work is when that freshness is not lost.
JA: The length of time certainly varies from piece to piece. The tangles and doodles definitely take the least amount of time, with simpler ones taking about three to four hours. As I venture into more complex patterning and bending sequences I previously considered impossible the doodles can take up to two days to make (assuming I don’t mess up and they shatter on the floor). The tubing imported from Murano is beautiful, expensive, and is notorious for being difficult to work with. Some pieces are definitely way more challenging than others. I am consistently pushing my comfort zone with the material and trying new things.
Typically the list of new ideas I want to make far exceeds the available time, so it isn’t too often I come back to an older piece. The Flat Eclipse Sunset is one exception, partially inspired by the concept of weld bends, and trying to make an “unmountable” (by signage methods) tube that formed an eclipse and a sunset. I gave up trying to make it numerous times after failing over and over again. It involves making 22, perfect, consecutive weld bends with Murano glass and phosphors that do not like to be reheated after they are bent. Seeing a total solar eclipse in 2024 helped inspire me to persevere and finally make it. While bending this, if I mess up on any of those weld bends, they will irreparably break when they are inevitably reheated two welds later.
The CCCFL bulbs (Cold Cathode Compact Fluorescent Lights) have been in development for years now. I have been 3D printing and resin casting the “bases” to fit custom transformers. Like the doodles, I push myself technically with these, bringing exclamatory phrases into bubble letter fonts bent as small as possible. These usually take a day or two to bend themselves.
Pieces like the (mis)information Arrow involve welding steel frames to patterns I make digitally and bending blacklight tubing. Those pieces can easily take me over a week to make.
