Liliana Diane Lakich (born June 4, 1944) is an American artist, best known for her work in
neon sculpture. As a child, she had been fascinated by neon advertising, and she built her career around illuminated art, with its special emotional power. Lakich has received many private and public art commissions, in one case assisting the city of Los Angeles in a street-lighting project. She also co-founded the
Museum of Neon Art (MONA), the first specialist collection of art in electric media. Her sculptures have been featured in major publications on contemporary sculpture.
Early life
Lakich was born in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, but soon moved to
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
when her father's military career transferred the family to
Davis Monthan Air Base and then to California when he was sent to the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
. They went on frequent
road trip
A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance Travel, journey traveled by a car or a motorcycle.
History
First road trips by automobile
The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by the automobile took place in German Em ...
s where she was exposed to roadside
neon sign
In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in Decem ...
s.
"When my father returned from the Korea," she recalls, "the first thing he did was buy a brand new, light-blue
Chrysler
FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
. We drove all over the United States, visiting relatives and old friends from California to Florida. By day we read all the clever
Burma Shave signs and stopped at every
souvenir shop
A gift shop or souvenir shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs, memorabilia, and other items relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold often include coffee mugs, stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collections ...
or
roadside attraction
A roadside attraction is a feature along the side of a road meant to attract tourists. In general, these are places one might stop on the way to somewhere, rather than being a destination. They are frequently advertised with billboard (advertis ...
that was made to look like a
wigwam
A wigwam, wikiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wikiup'' ...
, teapot or giant hamburger, but it was driving at night that I loved best. It was then that the darkness would come alive with brightly colored images of
cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...
s twirling
lasso
A lasso or lazo ( or ), also called reata or la reata in Mexico, and in the United States riata or lariat (from Mexican Spanish lasso for roping cattle), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when ...
s atop rearing
palomino
Palomino is a equine coat color, genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane (horse), mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. The palomino color derived from the breeding of Spanish hor ...
s, sinuous
Indians shooting bows and arrows, or huge trucks in the sky with their wheels of light spinning. These were the neon signs attempting to lure motorists to stop at a particular
motel
A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the Parking lot, parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central Lobby (room), lo ...
or
truck-stop diner. We stopped, but it was always the neon signs that I remembered."
She attended six 5th grades and three high schools in the U.S. and
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
(her father was now stationed in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
). After graduating from high school near
Fort Meade, Maryland
Fort Meade is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,324 at the 2020 census. It is the home to the National Security Agency, Central Security Service, United States Cyber Command an ...
(between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.), she went to college at
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...
in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. Dissatisfied with the traditional painting, printmaking and sculpture classes that were offered, she left Pratt after her second year to attend the
London School of Film Technique in London, England. Film making proved to be too much of a group activity, so she returned to Pratt and earned a Bachelor Fine Arts degree in 1967.
While at Pratt, a devastating personal relationship led her to create her first light sculpture, a self-portrait with tiny light bulbs controlled by a motor, blinking down her face like tears. "This was my first electric work of art," she says, "and for the first time in my life, I felt that I had really and absolutely expressed myself. For me, art is cathartic—-a means of packaging emotion and exorcising it. Once I had made a portrait of myself crying, I could stop crying. The sculpture cried for me. If you can express mangled feelings in a work of art, you can overpower them. They then exist as a set of lines, colors and forms. They're no longer an amorphous nausea eating away at your gut. They're incorporated into an object. You can see it. You can hang it on a wall. And if you can make it beautiful, you can somehow feel that it has sanctity...that it is an icon capable of arousing an emotional response in other people as well."
Career
After graduating from Pratt Institute, Lakich moved to San Francisco briefly before settling in Los Angeles in 1968. "When I was in San Francisco, I didn't have a single idea. The city was too Victorian for me. When I came to Los Angeles with all its lights and visual clutter, I suddenly had lots of ideas."
Lakich began exhibiting neon sculpture in 1973 at Gallery 707 on La Cienega Blvd. Her first solo exhibition, at Womanspace in The Woman's Building in 1974, garnered a review in Artforum magazine by Peter Plagens where he commented "...the whole show is solid, however, I doubt whether Lakich will confine her development to static, confined neon, if for no other reason than the recent liberation of electric lights through Process, video, and performance art." (Boy, was he wrong. Thirty years later, Lakich has become one of the premier artists in the world working in illuminated sculpture).
In 1980 Lakich was one of the ten invited artists whose work was exhibited in the
Great American Lesbian Art Show at the
Woman's Building
The Woman's Building was a non-profit arts and education center located in Los Angeles, California. The Woman's Building focused on feminist art and served as a venue for the women's movement and was spearheaded by artist Judy Chicago, graphic de ...
. From 1982, Lakich founded and served as first director for the
Museum of Neon Art in Los Angeles, remaining there until 1999. In 1986 she authored ''Neon Lovers Glow in the Dark'' and in 2007 ''LAKICH: For Light. For Love. For Life.''
Her sculptures have been included in major publications on contemporary sculpture, neon sculpture and feminist art including ''
Signs'', and in many private and corporate collections.
She has had solo shows in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
,
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.
Artistic works
In 1984, ''Drive-In'' was created by Lakich after she was commissioned by Unity Savings for their new Beverly Hills office. At the corner of Wilshire and La Cienega Boulevards (known as "Restaurant Row"), it was located on the former site of Dolores Restaurant, famous for being one of the original drive-in restaurants in Los Angeles. Dolores had been torn down against the will of its owner and long-term patrons and was replaced by a large office building. Unity Savings happened to be one of the tenants. Because a savings and loan relies on the support of local residents and businesses, Lakich thought it would be exciting and appropriate to create a tribute to Dolores Restaurant.
Lakich created the ''L.A. Angel'' in 1992 on the West wall of 300 block of South Olive with the intention to serve a practical problem for the city of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. When California Plaza on Bunker Hiss was extended, it created a dark, tunnel-like effect along the 300 block of South Olive. It was decided by the developer to install a light sculpture to meet the City's lighting standards and worked with the
Museum of Neon Art in 1989 to commission $75,000 to a woman artist to complete the work. The piece is constructed of lightweight honeycomb aluminum sheets in an abstracted human shape with streaks of neon lights incorporated. It is meant to represent the culture, industry and character of the city of Los Angeles while speaking to the past and present of the city.
A few years later, Lakich was commissioned a to create a sculpture in a multi-million dollar home in the hills of Santa Ana. The artist presented four different concepts for the project, but it was this one that intrigued Mrs. Freed as her husband is a therapist. Lakich initially built out the work of inch-thick gator foam and took it to the site to test the scale. She then used honeycomb aluminum supported by a steel structure to realize the work. In 1995, ''Tell Me About Yourself'' intrigues many people as it is unusual to see a neon sculpture in an outdoor residential setting. But it has proved popular with the couple's guests, and it delights them that when coming home from an airplane trip they can spot it from the sky on the ground below.
In 2009, she completed the 114-ft public art commission, ''Flyaway'' in 2009 for the Van Nuys FlyAway Bus Terminal at 7610 Woodley Ave. in
Van Nuys
Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
History
In 1 ...
. This sculpture constructed of honeycomb aluminum and contains two figures:
Pegasus
Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...
connected to abstracted flying human figure with streaks of neon lighting and argon tubing.
Selected works
* ''Blessed Oblivion'' (1975), Museum of Neon Art
* ''Where the Eagle Flies'' (1990), lobby of the Washington Building, Los Angeles
* ''Drive-In,'' (1984) Unity Savings, Beverly Hills, CA
* ''L.A. Angel'' (1992), 300 block of South Olive, Los Angeles
* ''TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF'' (1995) Commissioned by Evelyn and Frank Freed, Santa Ana, California
* ''Guardian'',
Miller Children's Hospital
Miller Children's and Women's Hospital Long Beach is a non-profit children's hospital located on the campus of Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in Long Beach, California. Miller Children's and Women's provides specialized pediatric care for in ...
at
Long Beach Memorial Medical Center
MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center (LBMC), formerly known as Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, is a hospital in Long Beach, California, Long Beach, California. It is the flagship hospital of the MemorialCare Health System. The hospital is a ...
* ''Buddha'',
Museum of Neon Art
* ''Flyaway'' (2009), Van Nuys FlyAway Bus Terminal, Los Angeles
Bibliography
*
*
*
References
External links
Lakich Studio*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lakich, Lili
1944 births
20th-century American sculptors
Living people
Neon artists
Pratt Institute alumni
American lesbian artists
21st-century American women sculptors
Artists from Washington, D.C.
21st-century American sculptors
20th-century American women sculptors