This paper offers the perspective that architecture should be considered and seen as public art. Accordingly, this paper adopts an interdisciplinary perspective to the study and practice of art and architecture. Along these lines, the paper will discuss a proposal by Urban Art Lab in the SixtyNine-Seventy Competition, which called for the conceptual “re-envisioning” or re-imagining of two street blocks (69 and 70) in downtown Salt Lake City in Utah. Urban Art Lab’s entry for the competition was an urban cluster within two Salt Lake City blocks that consisted of installations, art interventions and new public spaces.

The aim of this paper is to examine the narratives of two films, Les Nuits Électriques by Eugène Deslaw (1928) and site specific_LAS VEGAS 05 by Olivio Barbieri (2005), using a favorite theme of avant-garde filmmakers: urban lighting in direct combination with neon light advertising.This paper offers a nuanced perspective on how film affects the understanding of neon advertising in relation to the built environment. Also, the paper explores the social, cultural, economic and political and conceptual implications of architecture as a sign through the interpretation of those who capture it.

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