{{short description|American artist}} '''Michael Robert Flechtner''' (born June 19, 1951) is an American artist known for his work in neon art. In 2009 he was commissioned by the United States Postal Service to create the first-ever neon postage stamp for the Forever Stamp series. The "Celebrate" stamp was released in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=SoCal Artist Creates First-Ever Neon Postage Stamp |url=https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/SoCal-Artist-Creates-First-Ever-Neon-Postage-Stamp-119888859.html |website=nbclosangeles.com |date=14 April 2011 |publisher=NBC |accessdate=20 August 2019}}</ref> The stamp was reissued in 2015, and the original {{convert|33|x|44|in|cm|adj=on}} neon is on exhibit at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum.<ref>{{cite web |title=Arago People Postage and the Post |url=https://arago.si.edu/record_245430_img_1.html |website=postalmuseum.si.edu |accessdate=22 August 2019}}</ref>
Flechtner graduated with a degree in Fine Arts in 1981 from Columbus College of Art and Design.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://my.ccad.edu/blogs/alumnus-designs-uspss-first-neon-stamp |title= Alumnus designs USPS's first neon stamp|work= My CCAD}}</ref> An Ohio native, with a Masters in Fine Art (sculpture & painting) from Wichita State University, Flechtner moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1980s, inspired first by the artist Stephen Antonakos and subsequent visit to the Museum of Neon Art (MONA), then located in Downtown Los Angeles.<ref name="dailynews">{{cite web |last1=Modesti |first1=Kevin |title=For Valley 'neon artist' – it's all about the light |url=https://www.dailynews.com/2011/01/22/for-valley-neon-artist-ndash-its-all-about-the-light/ |website=dailynews.com |date=22 January 2011 |accessdate=20 August 2019 |ref=dailynews}}</ref> Flechtner now sits on MONA's advisory board.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.neonmona.org/about/ |title=about |website=mona.org |publisher=Museum of Neon Art |accessdate=20 August 2019}}</ref>
Flechtner says his fascination with light began when he was a child: "I’d go to church and see light streaming through the stained glass windows, my father, replacing bulbs sitting in a pile Christmas lights and various flavors of Jell-O."<ref name="csuci.edu">{{cite web |title=Neon art, printmaking and chambers of the heart explored at CI art shows |url=https://www.csuci.edu/news/releases/2015-ciartshows.htm |publisher=csuci.edu |accessdate=20 August 2019 |ref=csuci.edu}}</ref> His public art includes "A Neon Aquarium" at the corner of Olympic and Sawtelle in Los Angeles, and installations in Minneapolis and Tokyo.<ref name="artillery">{{cite web |title=MICHAEL FLECHTNER: THIS IS NOT A SIGN |url=https://artillerymag.com/events/michael-flechtner-this-is-not-a-sign/ |website=artillerymag.com |publisher=Artillery Magazine |accessdate=20 August 2019 |ref=artillery}}</ref> In 2019 he began the physical reproduction and replacement of the neon signage at the drive-in movie theater in his home town of Tiffin, Ohio.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nye |first1=Bret |title=First phase of Tiffin Drive-In neon sign restoration is complete |url=https://www.advertiser-tribune.com/news/local-news/2019/08/first-phase-of-tiffin-drive-in-neon-sign-restoration-is-complete/ |website=advertiser-tribune.com |accessdate=20 August 2019}}</ref>
Flechtner is the recipient of a J. Paul Getty Trust Fund Fellowship for the Visual Arts, the Botticelli Award, and Ford Foundation Award.<ref name="artillery" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.flektro.com/ Official website]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flechtner, Michael}} Category:Living people Category:Sculptors from Ohio Category:Neon artists Category:Wichita State University alumni Category:American stamp designers Category:1951 births