Neon Intervention

There aren’t many ways to truly intervene into a consolidated space such as the rich interiors of a Venetian palace without the risk of irrevocably altering that space.

Lorenzo Vitturi, an Italian photographer and ex-member of Fabrica, Benetton’s communication research center, managed to create a highly dramatic atmosphere (in an already dramatic space) with a very minimalist intervention: a rectangle of white neon light.

Vitturi says:

The intention was to transform the historic environment of the palace into a metaphysical space playing with the contrast between classic and contemporary.

  1. Adrian Clement
    07.03.11 04:03

    Gorgeous. Great find.

  2. Carl MH Barenbrug
    07.03.11 12:02

    A beautiful effect. I like it.

  3. Mattias
    07.03.11 13:36

    Lovely! I love its full-frontal subtleness.

  4. up_today_arch
    07.03.11 17:28

    flying light… just amazing…

  5. Derek
    07.03.11 22:29

    Just a square white neon frame in a Venetian Palace. I really don’t get this one. I’d love to be ironic and Photoshopsome pics of my house to look as though I have a similar installation. The definition of this work is the palace. Not the neon. Why bother?

    I guess it’s just not a purposeful enough idea for me.

  6. Derek
    07.03.11 22:34

    (upon further consideration, I will admit that experiencing the effect firsthand may be entirely fantastic. Who’s to know? Definitely not me. Venetian palaces are lacking in number in my area.)

  7. Marina Esmeraldo
    07.03.11 23:58

    @Derek: Actually, I would say that the definition of this work is the collaboration between both elements – the palace and the neon. A neon sign in a contemporary urban environment is nothing out of the ordinary (as would be the case if you photoshopped a neon rectangle into your house, which is another contemporary element). A Venetian palace is a place practically frozen in time, preserved to remember days gone by. The contrast created by juxtaposing both is what I find striking.

  8. Aaron
    14.03.11 19:42

    This is a stunning installation. The neon reminds me of lingering ghosts. Cue Penderecki’s threadiny

  9. Aaron
    14.03.11 19:43

    This is a stunning installation. The neon reminds me of lingering ghosts. Cue Penderecki’s Threadony for the Victims of Hiroshima.