Lifestyle
Behind The Book: Neon Butterflies by Bill Concannon
In 1898 two British chemists discovered a rare gaseous element that glows when “excited electrically.” They dubbed it “neon” from Greek, meaning “new one.”
Fast forward to the 1970s, when Bay Area–based artist Bill Concannon started working with neon as his medium. He founded Aargon-Neon, a shop that produces commercial signage, in addition to teaching the craft of neon-bending in an art context.
This year Concannon made the butterflies for covers of the April women’s and men’s editions of NM’s The Book. These behind-the-scenes photos capture the scale in a way that’s not apparent on the actual covers. The butterflies have gone on to appear in Neiman Marcus store windows, and will remain in the company’s permanent art collection.
View The Book online or download it with NM Editions for iPad.
