Neon Cowboys and Pink Ladies
A Photographic Exhibit of Neon Signs from the 1970s
Presented by: Mike Cochran
Opening at the Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum
Thursday, October 18, 2012, 5 PM

In every city on earth and in most towns, the nights are at least in part lit by the bright light of neon signs. It is literally "lightening in a tube" and has lit up the night for 100 years, changing and dominating the nightscape of the industrialized world. These intense colors can be seen from considerable distances and the glass tubes which hold the various colored gases can be fashioned into intricate, highly readable letters and shapes: it is the perfect medium for nighttime advertising.
Because they were fragile and hard to transport, neon signs were generally produced locally, which caused them to develop a distinct regional style. The icons of southwestern culture are represented from Texas to California the nights were lit with giant cowboys, bucking horses, sombreros, cacti, longhorns and the occasional dancehall girl. Neon became another form of folk-art, writ large, and intensely bright.

Join us in the Courthouse-on-the-Square first floor gallery as Mike Cochran presents his collection of photos of southwestern neon signs from the 1970s.


The exhibit will be on view through the end of January 2013.

Peggy Riddle, 940-349-2852

An Online Exhibition of Photos of Neon Signs by Mike Cochran