Neon Parallax
Neon Parallax is a public art project featuring many luminous works around the Plaine de Plainpalais in Geneva.
The project is managed by the two public art funds of Geneva (FMAC.[1] and FCAC[2]) in collaboration with the owners of the buildings on which the works are installed.
Developed in successive phases since 2006, Neon Parallax brings together the works of Sylvie Fleury (CH), Jérôme Leuba (CH) (dismantled in 2017.[3]), Christian Jankowski (DE), Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster (FR), Sislej Xhafa (KO), Nic Hess (CH), Ann Veronica Janssens (BE), Pierre Bismuth (FR), Christian Robert-Tissot (CH), Nathalie Du Pasquier (FR) and Olaf Nicolai (DE). Two other independently designed light projects also line the site, those by Tatsuo Miyajima (JP) for the University of Geneva[4] and Emilie Ding (CH) for the Mirabaud Bank[5].
History
Conceived in 2004, Neon Parallax is a specific response to the art commissions practiced until then: the allocation of - generally 1% or percent for art - of the construction budget of a public building to integrate an artistic intervention. It is also the direct heir of the Public Art Fund billboard sign on Times Square in New York.[6] With Neon Parallax, the issue of public procurement changes scale to encompass a larger urban framework.[7] The project includes a vast perimeter[8] whose buildings (which do not belong to the commissioners) only serve as a "plinth" for the works. The works are intended for the users of the common public space rather than for the buildings that support them[9]
Context
At the beginning of the 2000s, the Plaine de Plainpalais, despite its central position, was a vast empty square of 95,000 m2, quite desolate and occupied alternately by the flea market, a temporary amusement park or circuses[10]
One of the principles of Neon Parallax is to transpose the glamorous image of the lakefront and the Jet d'eau of Geneva to this popular and cultural space of the city[11]. The parallax relies on the similarity and the difference of the two spaces : the diamond shape, the size of the buildings, the central void. The "sponsored" aspect of Geneva with its luminous signs of prestigious watchmakers, hotels, banks and other companies reflecting on the lake has a particular cachet that Neon Parallax interprets in its own way[12] in the very heart of the urban center, while ousting other advertising signs[13]. The square functions as an exhibition hall on an urban scale.
List of art works
- “Breath” by Jérôme Leuba, 2007 (demolished in 2017)[14]
- “YES TO ALL” by Sylvie Fleury, 2007 (rue Patru 2)
- “expodrome” by Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, 2008 (avenue du Mail 11)
- “What I Still Have to Take Care of” by Christian Jankowski, 2008 (avenue du Mail 14b)
- “Axis of Silence” by Sislej Xhafa, 2009 (avenue du Mail 20)[15]
- “Fly a Dragon Kite” by Nic Hess, 2009 (avenue Henri-Dunant 6)
- "L'ODRRE N'A PAS IMPROTNCAE"(the order has no importance), 2012 by Ann Veronica Janssens (avenue Henri-Dunant 9)[16]
- “Coming soon!” by Pierre Bismuth, 2012 (avenue Henri-Dunant 4)
- “DIMANCHE” (Sunday) by Christian Robert-Tissot, 2012 (boulevard Georges-Favon 35–37)
- “ALDEZBF?” of Olaf Nicolai, 2022 (avenue Henri-Dunant 20)
- “Untitled” by Nathalie du Pasquier, 2022 (avenue Henri-Dunant 14)
Other luminous works around the Plaine de Plainpalais:
- “Fortress of Human Rights by Tatsuo Miyajima, 1997 (boulevard Georges-Favon / Rue General Dufour), University of Geneva, FCAC Geneva collection
- “How High Can You Count” by Emilie Ding, 2017 (boulevard Georges-Favon 29), Mirabaud Collection
Further Reading
- Neon Parallax bilingual (English/French) catalog, Editions Inf-Folio, 2012, ISBN 978-288474273-3
External links
- Neon Parallax official website
- Audio description on the project
- Visarte Prize
- Pictures of Neon Parallax
References
- ↑ Fonds Municipal d'Art Contemporain https://www.fmac-geneve.ch/projets/neon-parallax (french)
- ↑ Fonds Cantonal d'Art Contemporain https://fcac.ch/commande-publique/neon/ (french)
- ↑ Virginie Nussbaum, Le Temps, https://www.letemps.ch/culture/plainpalais-perdu-lun-neons-geants (french), 2022-07-12
- ↑ Description on the artist's website https://tatsuomiyajima.com/work-projects/fortress-of-human-rights/
- ↑ Mirabaud art collection https://contemporary-art.mirabaud.com/en/artists/detail/emilie-ding
- ↑ Public art lights up the night, Simon Lamuniere, Sur la Terre, Nr 43, p 104 "Think about it, do we really look at advertising in the street or on walls? We notice it when it’s garish but there are so many garish messages nowadays that it’s difficult to notice them unless they affect our emotions or question us. Influenced by the Public Art Fund projects on Times Square’s billboard, the signs of Neon Parallax show that artists can use the same methods as advertising to create real artworks." December 2012
- ↑ Neon Parallax, Ildiko Dao, Inferno Magazine: "contemporary art in Geneva worked with a cultural percentage allocated to the buildings to be constructed. We had the idea for this project when we wanted to work more independently of political decisions and above all to make art more visible, especially on a city scale, to really influence and improve the sites on which we thought to intervene” Winter-Summer issue 2016
- ↑ Location https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1SFeZceobeNrcKb0EAz5tlfHVbiY&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&ll=46.1984220425336%2C6.140679500000004&z=17
- ↑ "Discover Plainpalais". 3 February 2013.Retrieved 2023-10-10
- ↑ https://landezine-award.com/plaine-de-plainpalais/ Retrieved 2023-10-10
- ↑ "Neon Parallax ← Case Studies ← Homepage". Arts and Places. Retrieved 2023-10-10
- ↑ Neon Parallax, Ildiko Dao, Inferno Magazine “At the time, the Plaine de Plainpalais, an unbuilt diamond with an area of 100,000 m2 in the center of the city was a very controversial space. Considered a desolate area, while it regularly hosts circuses, fairgrounds, flea markets and many other popular events, this square suffered from a lack of urban vision. Redevelopment projects were bogged down and we thought we could improve this space without touching it directly. From there was born the idea of being on the edge and on the roofs, like around the famous harbor of Geneva. We wanted to create an artistic counterpoint to the image of the harbor sponsored by hotels, banks or watchmaking. Winter-Summer issue 2016
- ↑ Madeleine Amsler, Neons-Kunst auf Genfer Dächern, Kunstbulletin, "Instead of advertising a company, a product or a service, they awaken our attention and make us think. With "Neons", art does not only take hold of a place, but at the same time creates zones of visual calm, as the authorities have for some time refused requests for additional advertising signs around the Plaine de Plainpalais, thus putting an end to the commercialization of this eminent public place." https://www.artlog.net/de/kunstbulletin-3-2010/neons-kunst-auf-genfer-daechern March 2010
- ↑ Pau Waelder on Leuba's sign https://www.pauwaelder.com/neon-parallax/ Retrieved 2016-06-12
- ↑ Séverine Fromaigeat on Xhafa's sign https://www.artlog.net/en/art/axis-silence Retrieved 2023-10-09
- ↑ Séverine Fromaigeat on Janssens' sign https://www.artlog.net/en/art/lodrre-na-pas-dipmrotncae. Retrieved 2023-10-09
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