Neon: David Bowie The Golden Years by Louis Sidoli

B Y LO U I S S I D O L I

FOREWORD: It is often remarked that tremendously influential figures

was, and is, a major source of his appeal. Moreover, he

only reach true prominence posthumously; this, however,

was all things to all people; whether your passion lies

is happily not the case for David Bowie. His ageless,

in art, music, film, fashion or social commentary, the

endlessly creative persona was responsible for a seismic

sheer theatre and zest with which Bowie approached all

shift in popular culture that inspired generations during his

of his projects won hearts and minds aplenty. Followers

career, and it’s this legacy that will ensure his star burns

became fans, fans became friends, and friends became

brightly for many years, and indeed generations, to come.

family. He was decorated in so many ways throughout his career, and won accolades so varied, from a Star on the

“I’m an instant star. Just add water and stir.”

Hollywood Walk of Fame, to being awarded Commander

(David Bowie, Valentines & Vitriol, Rex Reed 1978)

of the Order of Arts and Letters by French culture minister Catherine Trautmann, to being mentioned in the Only

Immortalised here through Sidoli’s marriage of sketching,

Fools and Horses soundtrack, his industry recognition was

printmaking, metallurgy, engineering, carpentry & neon

befittingly diverse.

glass, Bowie lives still through art. A keen artist and collector himself, Bowie took a certain pleasure from his

It is with great symbolism and insight that celebrated

only academic qualification being his O-Level in Art. He

British artist, Louis Sidoli, has chosen to craft a visual

could often be found sketching, painting, drawing with

tribute to Bowie using the chemical element neon as his

charcoal and sculpting; yet one more channel through

medium. Derived from the Greek word,νέον, meaning new

which his ingenuity flowed. In 2007, he established, and

– neon seems wholly appropriate for a man who invented

curated, the High Line festival – a new annual series of

genres, broke down barriers and created new audio

music, film, comedy and art events in New York. From

visual landscapes enjoyed by his fans and contemporaries

curator to subject, he was later, in 2013, the focus of an

alike. Poignantly, whilst neon is ‘cosmically abundant’

extremely well-attended exhibition in 2013 at the Victoria

it is extremely rare on Earth; a beautiful comparison to

and Albert Museum that documented his career through a

draw with the man who seemingly landed on Earth and,

carefully curated display of items, from stage equipment,

fortunately for us, liked it enough to stay a while.

to costumes to his own sketches, from the Bowie organisation’s own archive.

“I always had a repulsive need to be something more than human.”

Bowie’s chameleon-like propensity to evolve and adapt

(David Bowie, interview in Rolling Stone, February 1976)

Oh! You Pretty Thing - 1971

100 x 100cm | Edition size 1 of 3

1971 - Oh! You Pretty Thing: “This piece is based on the cover for the 1971 album “Hunky Dory”.

The track ‘Andy Warhol’ on that album first ignited my curiosity and love of the pop art movement from an early age. It’s fair to say that without this album, I might not have become an artist. The image of the album cover was influenced by a photo of Marlene Dietrich that Bowie took to the photo shoot.”

- Louis Sidoli

Star - 1972

100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3 120 x 120cm | Edition 1 of 1

1973 - Sex Symbol: "With both the male & female sex symbols represented in neon, this piece reflects his androgynous image. The lyrics from ‘Rebel Rebel’ featured on the artwork are Bowie’s actual handwriting."

- Louis Sidoli

Sex Symbol - 1973

100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3

Year Of The Diamond Dogs - 1974 100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3

Fame - 1975

100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3

1976 - The Visitor: “Based on Bowie’s appearance in ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’, the background is a star map representing the extra-terrestrial origins of Thomas Jerome Newton in the film. I didn’t realise until I finished the piece that the constellation of ‘Chameleon’ is prominent on his face, which is very appropriate because of the well-known media cliché that Bowie was himself a chameleon.”

- Louis Sidoli

The Visitor - 1976

100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3

Berlin - 1977

120 x 120cm | Edition 1 of 3

Glamour 1980

100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3

RCA - Most Wanted Series

100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3

Time Takes a Cigarette

153 x 102 cm | Edition 1 of 5

Flaming Star

100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3

The images contained within this literature are an artistic representation of the collection. To best experience our art, we recommend you contact your local gallery to arrange a viewing. Š Washington Green 2016. The content of this brochure is subject to copyright and no part can be reproduced without prior permission.