Friday, January 22, 2010

Learning from Las Vegas





This is the original architectural drawing of the Stardust hotel sign, born on the Vegas Strip in 1958 and razed in 2006. As a flashing neon sign, its planetary-galactic theme was beyond seductive. But even without the high voltage, its twinkling is idiomatic of the artist's style.
Who exactly conceived of this design is disputed, but here is some excellent history on it.
And here is a link to the brilliant 1972 book that discusses "The Forgotten Symbolism of Architectural Form," (or "The Physiognomy of a Typical Casino Sign,") by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown.

1 comment:

  1. I like the architectural drawing more than Las Vegas. I think if there was a history tour about this I would probably like going to Vegas. Interesting how the sign maker took credit for the design!

    ReplyDelete