My name is James Akers, and I live in Brooklyn, New York where I work as an artist, educator and commercial neon bender. I create dense, frenetically active sculptures that often incorporate neon and electronics. For me, neon provides the eye grabbing glow of a screen in a three dimensional, shapeable, immersive, linear glow that commands viewers attention. By adding modified consumer electrical circuits to a sculpture, I give that sculpture abilities, making the object able to make noises, play video, or scan an object, the possibilities go on and on. I received a BFA from Alfred University in 2015 and my work has been shown at places including the Corning Museum of Glass, Color Factory Houston, Nicolayson Museum in Wyoming and Toyama Glass Art Museum in Japan to name a few.
Artistically, I’m interested in themes of surveillance, influence, consumerism, advertisement, celebration and subversion. I find people doing things the “wrong way” can be exciting and make things more interesting. I love messes and marks that result from an action, or a series of actions and I employ the “show your work” philosophy when designing and assembling my work.
