Marquee

Philippe Parreno’s Marquee (2015) is a light installation inspired by the luminous signs that hung over American movie theater entrances in the 1950s. The light bulbs and neon lights of the installation flicker alternatively according to eight individual lighting programs conceived by the artist.

The installation is part of an ongoing series, which started in 2006 and consists of more than 60 marquees that are individual in their form, light effect and construction. For Parreno, a marquee is an intervention in the display space that introduces the possibility of an event; no longer advertising a cinematographic show but still suggesting the presence of cinema, the marquee becomes an indicator, a label, or a naming device. These glowing pieces span the realms of sculpture, architecture and art, acting as ambiguous gateways between the inside and the outside world.