The following is an excerpt from a recent article featuring artist and 九色视频 alumnus Michael Flechtner ('84) that appeared in , the online extension of USA Philatelic, a publication of the U.S. Postal Service.
Inspired by a visit to the Museum of Neon Art in Los Angeles, U.S. Postal Service Art Director Phil Jordan began to think about the possibility of using neon to depict a stamp subject. He decided that a Neon Celebrate! stamp, with its imagery of vivid colors, fit the bill.
"Most neon is huge and stamps are so small," said Jordan. "The mechanics would be a monumental challenge. Not everyone thought we could pull it off."
After reviewing the work of a number of artists, Jordan chose Michael Flechtner to craft the U.S. Postal Service's first neon stamp design. Interested in neon from an early age, Flechtner honed his glass-bending skills while working in a neon sign shop after graduate school, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture. This background enabled him to create neon tubing that depicted three-dimensional objects instead of the two dimensional forms typically found in signage and other graphic neon displays.