Musical Neon
Description
This Visible City activity focuses on neon signs that represent four iconic music venues of Vancouver. Students are asked to make links between how the aesthetic choices of each sign relate to the kinds of music played in the venue and the audience the venue attracted. To conclude, students will design their own sign for an imaginary music venue of their choice.
Learning Objectives
- Learn about the neon signs of four iconic music venues in Vancouver
- Observe the aesthetic properties of each of the signs
- Link these aesthetic choices to the desired identity of the establishment and its area
- Design a sign for an imaginary music venue based on previous observations about how aesthetics relate to the identity of the venue
- Interpret, analyze, and evaluate information from texts by examining and comparing ideas and elements among texts to make and support reasoned judgments
- Demonstrate effective written, oral, and graphic communication skills
- Speak and listen
Activity
1. Discussion Questions:
- What do each of these neon signs say about the establishment they signify? How can you tell?
- Why would the designer of the sign or the venue owner decide to use the symbols, font, and size that they used?
- How does the neon sign represent the identity that each venue desired? Do you think they succeeded? Why or why not?
- What kinds of people did the different establishments attract? How do you think the signs and the venues managed to attract the audience they wanted to?
2. Design and present your own neon sign for a music venue.
Pick your favourite genre of music and design a neon sign that represents a venue where that kind of music might be played. Write a short description of your imaginary venue and its sign, keeping these questions in mind: What kinds of symbols would you use? Which font? What size would your sign be? What kind of audience would you hope to attract with this sign? What kind of atmosphere would you hope to convey with the sign? When you present your sign to the class, remember to explain how you see your design relating to all of these questions.
Learning Objects
Download all Learning Objects:
ZIP 155 MB: 2-les_objets_dapprentissage-learning_objects.zip
Download Lesson Plan (PDF):
PDF 547 KB: 2_plans_de_lecon-lesson_plans-Eng.pdf
Download Adobe Acrobat:
http://www.adobe.com/ca/products/reader.html
1_Orpheum_FamousPlayersSign1948_VPL80714.tif (Photo name included for reference)
1_Orpheum_SeymourEntrance1928_VPL11034.tif (Photo name included for reference)
1_Vogue_Night1946_VPL27166.tif (Photo name included for reference)
2_SmilinBuddha_NeonSign_VancouverSun.tif (Photo name included for reference)
3_Vogue_Sign2010_2_FlickrPhotoByMelBuenaventura.tif (Photo name included for reference)
4_Orpheum_ContemporaryAudienceSeating_2_VSOWebsite.tif (Photo name included for reference)
4_SmilinBuddha_Beer_BevDavies.tif (Photo name included for reference)
4_SmilinBuddha_Crowd_BevDavies.tif (Photo name included for reference)
4_YaleHotel_X_Bar_1.tif (Photo name included for reference)
4_YaleHotel_X_NightSign_5.tif (Photo name included for reference)
Vogue (8 of 9).tif (Photo name included for reference)
Audio
Dal Richards said…
"I saw any number of vaudeville shows in the Orpheum. And just thought, that would be the ultimate for me, to have an orchestra in the Orpheum stage…"
Audio
Norman Young said…
"The yo-yo was the rage anyway, and it became a special rage, in some ways, in Vancouver. So, if you were a kid, you’d go to a corner grocery store…"
Audio
Joe Keithley said…
"The stage was at the back and kind of to the left. It was really gaudy beyond belief. I mean, it hadn’t had an update since, I don’t know, 1952..."
Audio
Murphy Farrell said…
"We asked him,‘Hey Lashman, you know you fired Jimmy Hendrix? How come you fired him?’ He goes, ‘Too loud. Music’s too loud.’ So little did he know…"
Audio
Dal Richards said…
"Liquor laws were completely different in those days. There was no beer or spirits sold in a ballroom. But the Yale had their beer parlour..."
Audio
Joe Luciak said…
"These are my aunts and I want to give them the world, but I want to make sure that the Yale’s there tomorrow for everybody…"
Audio
Dal Richards said…
"The Vogue is a very beautiful theatre. And its neon sign has always been very artistic. Clearly the winner, I'd say, if there were a contest..."
Audio
Jon-Paul Walden said…
"I had to dabble with the neon constantly. It was sort of my pet project. I love the effect it had turning it on at night…"
More Lesson Plans
For a full range of lesson plans from this virtual exhibit and others, please visit:
http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu
