With Flying Colors

If there are two things South Beach does well, it’s color and skin. The strip of sand across the causeway is one of the nation’s brightest, visually, thanks to all the tropical plants, pastel-hued buildings, and unhealthy dose of Britto artwork on every corner. The Beach also ranks among the...

By Ciara LaVelle

May 17, 2012

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If there are two things South Beach does well, it’s color and skin. The strip of sand across the causeway is one of the nation’s brightest, visually, thanks to all the tropical plants, pastel-hued buildings, and unhealthy dose of Britto artwork on every corner. The Beach also ranks among the sexiest locales in the nation, what with all the bikini babes on the sand, jacked shirtless dudes on Lincoln Road, and barely-there scraps that pass for nightclub fashion on Washington Avenue. Those two specialties — skin and color — often overlap, as anyone who’s ever seen an overly orange spray-tan victim or severely sunburned tourist knows. So it only makes sense that Robert Babylon’s exhibit “Neon Lights” would land in South Beach. A mix of retro pin-up sensibility and 1980s aesthetic, the works feature scantily clad women wearing fetishy pieces such as fishnets and tutus — all of which nearly jump off the page in fluorescent bursts. The exhibit has had successful runs in New York, which surely needed a splash of color, and Las Vegas, where the artworks’ neon probably blended right into the landscape on the Strip. But we all know the real spiritual homeland of these images is Miami Beach.
May 22-June 30, 7 p.m., 2012

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Ciara LaVelle is New Times' former arts and culture editor. She earned her BS in journalism at Boston University and moved to Florida in 2004. She joined New Times' staff in 2011.

Contact: Ciara LaVelle

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