After Years in the Dark, Neon Light Show is Here to Stay
After Years in the Dark, Michael Hayden’s Noted Neon Sculpture in the Downtown Los Angeles Jewelry District was re-illuminated on January 22, 2015
On January 22, 2015, art luminaries and city officials gathered in downtown Los Angeles to honor public art and re-illuminate the critically acclaimed “Generators of the Cylinder” by light artist Michael Hayden, which had previously been dark for a decade.
Watch on KNBC-4:
General Manager of the Economic and Workforce Development Department of Los Angeles Jan Perry, Collector- Art Advisor-Museum Creator-Public Arts Advocate-Former President of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Commission Merry Norris, Foreign Policy & Diplomacy Service of Consulate General of Canada Nadia Scipio del Campo, artist Michael Hayden, board members of the Museum of Neon Art Kim Koga, Eric Evavold, David Svenson and Eric Lynxwiler, director of Los Angeles’ Architecture and Design Museum Tibbie Dunbar, builder-sculpture renovator Michael Grosswendt, President of All Coast Construction, and others gathered at dusk to witness the stunning lights.
Pictured L to R (top row): Greg Goldin, Merry Norris, Tibbie Dunbar, Wendy Berg, Jeanne D’Amato, Lori Lowe, and Damion Gardner, Kristina Lucas, Steven Ehrlich, and Nancy Griffin; (middle row): Michael Hayden under “Generators of the Cylinder,” Michael Grosswendt, Hayden, Megan Lawler, Nadia Scipio del Campo, Hayden, Merry Norris, Jan Perry, Hayden, David Svenson, Kazumi Svenson and son Shion; (bottom row): Ray Barnhart, Eric Evavold, Kim Koga, Gaven Hayden-Town, Chelsea Beyries, Hugh Livingston, Kristina Lucas, Bill Jehle, Hayden, Garfield Smith, Lisa Fischer, Beatice Tesdorph. Photos by Melissa Manning/thelookpartnership.com.
With the flip of a switch and the artist’s exclamation, “Let there be light!,” Hayden’s vision for providing the city of Los Angeles with art that can be enjoyed by all – was back to light up the downtown skyline for good with its brilliant, kinetic rainbow effect. The 270-foot long sculpture, which consists of holographically etched polycarbonate semi-cylinders which are informed by infrared sensors and a hidden computer, was first installed in 1982 on the outdoor façade of the International Jewelry Center (550 S. Hill Street in Los Angeles). It will remain lit 24 hours a day, seven days a week, indefinitely. Hayden is one of the world’s most sophisticated light artists, famous for transforming corridors with neon light, most notably the Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
Photo: Roxie Sarhangi
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