This Present Moment

2019-22

Dimensions variable

Neon, custom controller, steel

This animated neon sign cycles through the statements “This present moment used to be the unimaginable future” and “This moment used to be the future” before turning off completely for a short time. The text illuminates a quote written by Stewart Brand, co-founder of The Long Now Foundation and creator of the Whole Earth Catalog.

In 2022, the Long Now Foundation brought the sign to Mount Washington in Nevada, where it was re-assembled among the mountain’s bristlecone pine trees (Pinus longaeva), some of the longest-lived trees in the world. Documenting the neon sign amongst ancient trees served as a provocation towards long-term thinking and highlights the simultaneity of vastly different time scales.

Neon produced by Amy Enlow. Fabrication assistance provided by Teresa Larrabee, James Akers, Jess Green, Paolo Tamez-Buccino and Jaelyn Kotzur. Photos by Vision & Verve and Calen Barnum.