Neon Sign Artist Celebrates the LGBTQ+ Community with Positive Signs
NEW YORK -- Matthew Day Perez fell in love with neon glass when he was only 14-years-old, right around the same time he came out. Today, he uses his art form to put messages that celebrate LGBTQ+ people in bright, neon lights.
"You know, when you're young, or othered, or queer, you know, you grow up as a young person dreaming about your name in lights. And we are literally doing that," says Matthew of his work. At a young age, he was inspired by Miss Vanjie, a drag queen contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race.
Why neon? "Neon is this other material, and queer people are kind of, marginalized folks, are also living in this other periphery. And those two things together just really make sense, and are really beautiful together," he says.
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