Visitors interact with ‘We Are Magic,’ Alicia Eggert’s neon art installation at UrbanGlass, where human touch completes the circuit and lights up the display.
Photo courtesy of UrbanGlass Gallery
UrbanGlass Gallery in Downtown Brooklyn invites visitors to become part of its latest neon art installation, “At a Time Like This,” which explores human connection and the passage of time.
The room-sized piece, “We Are Magic,” needs at least two people to illuminate the display. Two pedestals are purposely placed just far enough apart that no one person can reach both ends.
A small electrical current runs from one pedestal to the other, but it can only be transferred through human touch — when participants clasp hands, they complete the circuit, bringing the artwork to life.
The work only comes alive once that connection is made.
“There’s this exuberance to the moment when contact is made, and then this thing builds into this crescendo of light and sound,” curator Andres Page told Brooklyn Paper. “ People come in [and] sometimes it’s a stranger that they’re holding hands with. And that’s a really neat experience.”
The light sequence lasts two minutes, building in waves before enveloping the participants. If the connection is broken, the sound and lighting stop abruptly.
“When two people let go, the piece goes dark slowly — it becomes quiet,” Page said. “And there’s also something very intense about that experience.”
The work was created by multimedia conceptual artist Alicia Eggert, with support from local neon craftsman James Akers and music composer Marco Buongiorno Nardelli.
On the exhibition’s opening night, participants tested the limits of the artwork’s ability to generate connection. A chain of 30 people stood together, holding hands to see if the neon light would still switch on.
The neon flickered on despite the length of the chain. The maximum number of people who can complete the circuit remains unknown.
Finding connection despite political divisions
The artwork pulses with uplifting colors, enveloping the participants. Eggert said the music adds another dimension, evoking something more solemn and “not necessarily overtly joyful.”
The exhibition’s title, “At a Time Like This,” evokes the country’s current political divide.
“For me, it’s really important for people who believe in the same thing to come together and to rally around a cause and to see what kind of change is possible, [and] making sure our voice is being heard,” Eggert said.
Her previous works include “Ours,” a 2022 collaboration with Planned Parenthood. The neon sculpture cycles through the statements “OUR BODIES,” “OUR FUTURES,” and “OUR ABORTIONS.” It was displayed outside the U.S. Supreme Court a few months before Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Eggert’s work uses signage and language to captivate viewers. Her piece “The Light You See (Infinity)” features an infinity mirror with a neon sign that switches its wording in a captivating loop.
“You’re standing there with it, right?” said Eggert. “On one hand, they’re very meditative and sort of calming in the way that they cycle through.”
The sign reads, “ALL THE LIGHT YOU SEE IS FROM THE PAST.” As words fade, the message shifts to “ALL YOU SEE IS PAST.”
“On the other hand, it’s really reminding you of time passing and sort of moving on with or without you,” Eggert said. “For me, it creates a little bit of [a] sense of urgency, of making the most of the time that we have.”
The exhibition is hosted by UrbanGlass, a nonprofit founded in 1977 that promotes the art of glassmaking through gallery exhibitions, studio spaces and workshops.
“At a Time Like This” will be on display at UrbanGlass, 647 Fulton St. in Downtown Brooklyn, until May 4.
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