Neon

Available February 2027

Ellen Moody and Taylor Healy

The first of its kind, this authoritative open-access volume offers technical guidance and best practices on preserving, installing, and storing neon artworks.

Neon lighting first emerged as a cutting-edge technology in the late 19th century, illuminating the night sky with bright commercial signage. Artists soon began to test its potential, and figures like Chryssa, Bruce Nauman, Mary Weatherford, and Glenn Ligon created iconic works that established neon’s place in contemporary art. As the earliest neon artworks approach 100 years old, their conservation is crucial, yet preserving light-based art is absent from most conservation training programs. This publication fills that gap, offering an invaluable resource for professionals responsible for the care of neon.

Written by leading conservators working with light- and time-based art, this publication offers:

• Foundational knowledge of neon’s history, technology, and terminology.
• Best practices for preservation, installation, and storage, supported by step-by-step instructions, and conservation templates.
• Case studies examining challenges and solutions in exhibiting, repairing, and replicating neon artworks.
• In the online version, Informative, practical videos demonstrating repair and maintenance techniques.

Designed for conservators, curators, preparators, collectors, and cultural heritage professionals, this important volume offers essential guidance to those caring for neon artworks.

The free online edition of this open-access publication is available at getty.edu/publications/neon/ and includes zoomable illustrations, videos, and downloadable appendices. Also available are free PDF and EPUB downloads of the book. This publication was created using Quire, a multiformat publishing tool from Getty.

Ellen Moody is a project specialist at the Getty Conservation Institute. Previously, she was an objects conservator at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Taylor Healy is the assistant conservator of time-based media at the Art Institute of Chicago.

128 pages
7 x 10 inches
98 color illustrations
ISBN 979-8-88712-073-7
paperback

Getty Publications
Imprint: Getty Conservation Institute

2027