Resurrecting a
Forgotten Sonnier
Untitled (ca. 1968) is one of his first neon sculptures by the American artist Keith Sonnier (1941-202). Two neon tubes, one horizontal and one vertical, interact with two incandescent mirrored bulbs and each other, forming a loop which one tube pierces in a poetic and playful manner.
At some point after New York University’s Grey Art Gallery acquired Keith Sonnier’s Untitled, the two neon tubes which make up the work’s major sculptural impact had shattered. I consulted with the artist’s estate and a neon fabricator to recreate the broken glass tubes and allow the work to be shown for the first time in nearly five decades.
When what remained of the sculpture - a wooden box containing wires, sockets, and an old transformer - arrived to the conservation studio, its form was impossible to ascertain. Only once we were provided the black and white archival image did we have an idea of how the sculpture originally appeared.
While the archival image was invaluable, certain pieces of information (most notably the color of the tubes) were missing. The first step was to use the image to determine the scale of the work using measurements for the ceramic sockets as reference.
Condition
Before Treatment
The only archival image of the work, ca. 1970
To gain a better perspective on the overall scale of the work, I created a 1:1 scale CAD drawing using computer software.
The black and white archival image above doesn’t tell us the most important quality regarding the work’s neon lighting: its color(s).
The artist’s estate advised us on the tube diameter and presumed that the two tubes were once red and blue given Sonnier’s color tendencies of this period. The horizontal tube wrapping around both incandescent bulbs was probably red, and the vertical one was probably blue. The studio posited that the dark spots on vertical tube may come from argon (which burns blue), which can be “fiddly”, whereas neon (which burns red) is consistently bright. Thus, it was suggested that the vertical tube with dark spots was probably argon (blue).
Determining Color
I traveled to upstate New York, where the neon studio who fabricated many of Sonnier’s works is located. I identified the two red and blue colors Sonnier would have used in the late 1960s when this work was made. When an image of the color wheel was converted to grayscale, it became clear that the artist’s studio was correct in their assumption. We felt confident in our decision that the vertical tube was blue and the horizontal tube was red.
Refabricating the Tubes
A 1:1 scale CAD drawing I created using the archival image as a reference was printed before flexible copper tubing was used to create mock-up tubes. These facsimile tubes were delivered to the neon fabricator to match.
Completed Treatment
This project was an excellent example of how managing the constellation of stakeholders invested in an artwork’s restoration is an integral part of contemporary art conservation. It highlighted the nuanced decision-making process involved when determining an appropriate treatment plan which was within the constraints of budget, time, and available information while staying faithful to the artist’s original intention.
After Treatment
Archival image, ca. 1970