America (neon sculpture)

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America (neon sculpture) is a conceptual neon artwork by Glenn Ligon that interrogates race, identity, and the American experience through the glowing, often inverted word “America.”

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf artwork
conceptual art
neon sculpture
artForm installation art
light art
artMovement contemporary art
associatedWith Black conceptual art
critical discourse on American identity
text-based contemporary art
color sometimes colored neon
white light
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
creator Glenn Ligon NERFINISHED
depicts the word "America"
exhibitedIn contemporary art exhibitions in the United States
museum exhibitions on race and identity
genre conceptual art
hasPart glowing word "America"
hasQuality conceptual
critique of national identity
often displayed inverted
politically engaged
text-based
inCollectionOf various contemporary art museums
inspiredBy African American experience
American social and political history
intendedEffect to foreground racialized experience in the United States
to prompt reflection on the meaning of "America"
to question national myths
languageOfWork English
mainSubject identity
race
the American experience
materialUsed electrical components
neon
tubing
notableFeature glowing outline of letters
use of commercial signage aesthetics
word may appear reversed
word may appear upside down
partOf Glenn Ligon's body of work on text and identity
theme contradictions of American ideals
history of African Americans
language and power
racial politics in the United States
visibility and legibility of Black experience
usesTechnique inversion of text
play with illumination and darkness
repetition of a single word

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Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Glenn Ligon notableWork America (neon sculpture)