--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One night in the early sixties I passed…" description: "\"One night in the early sixties I passed something on the Long Island Expressway just before the Queens tunnel that I must have seen for years. The bill..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/larry-rivers-53027_advertising_one-night-in-the-early-sixties-i-passed_810918.png" --- # One night in the early sixties I passed something on the… ![“One night in the early sixties I passed something on the Long Island Expressway just before the Queens tunnel that I must have seen for years. The billboard advertising cigars, Dutch Masters. I realized it was sort of perfect. It's weird isn't it? You're looking at Rembrandt - in neon! It was too…” quote by Larry Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/larry-rivers-53027_advertising_one-night-in-the-early-sixties-i-passed_810918.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/larry-rivers-53027_advertising_one-night-in-the-early-sixties-i-passed_810918.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/larry-rivers-53027_advertising_one-night-in-the-early-sixties-i-passed_810918.png) > “One night in the early sixties I passed something on the Long Island Expressway just before the Queens tunnel that I must have seen for years. The billboard advertising cigars, Dutch Masters. I realized it was sort of perfect. It's weird isn't it? You're looking at Rembrandt - in neon! It was too much, it was irresistible.” [Larry Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-rivers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing a classic artwork rendered in neon highlights how modern media can both honor and commercialize tradition. **In simple terms:** Neon billboard mixes art and advertising. Key Takeaway Recognize the tension between reverence and commodification. Themes art media commercialization culture modernity Mood reflective curious Type observational critical When to use this quote - advertising - urban walking - art appreciation - consumer awareness Key Concepts visual culture symbolic juxtaposition Questions to Reflect On - How does commercial context change your perception of classic art? - Can neon enhance or diminish artistic value? A Different Perspective The novelty can distract from deeper appreciation of the original art. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advertising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advertising/) [Advertising Cigars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advertising-cigars-255984/) [Billboard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billboard/) [Billboard Advertising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billboard-advertising-255985/) [Billboards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billboards/) [Cigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigar/) [Dutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dutch/) [I realized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-realized/) [Irresistible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irresistible/) [Islands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islands/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long island](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-island/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) [Neon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neon/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [One night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-night/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Queens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/queens/) [Rembrandt Neon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rembrandt-neon-255986/) [Sixty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sixty/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) [Tunnels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tunnels/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Billboard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-billboard-255987/) ## Related quotes > [“You are a walking billboard, what are you advertising?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-matthew-kessler/you-are-a-walking-billboard-what-are-you-advertising/) [Jared Matthew Kessler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-matthew-kessler/) > [Your face is a billboard advertising your philosophy of life!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/your-face-is-a-billboard-advertising-your-philosophy-of-life/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > ['Billboard' needs to tell the truth, shake things up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince/billboard-needs-to-tell-the-truth-shake-things-up/) [Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince/) > [“At the casting sessions it was all boys and though I wasn’t exactly bored I didn’t need to be there, and songs constantly floating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/at-the-casting-sessions-it-was-all-boys-and-though-i-wasn-t-exactly/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [Oh Beautiful for smoggy skies, insecticide grain, For strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain. 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I remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane-brown/it-feels-awesome-to-be-a-guinness-world-records-title-holder-and-to/) [Kane Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane-brown/) > [It was an honor to have our album and names mentioned on the Billboard charts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/momo-hirai/it-was-an-honor-to-have-our-album-and-names-mentioned-on-the/) [Momo Hirai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/momo-hirai/) > [I've been on a show before where I was on a billboard and then, after like three or four weeks, they took the billboard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-perry/i-ve-been-on-a-show-before-where-i-was-on-a-billboard-and-then-after/) [Matthew Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-perry/) > [Try Jesus, you won't regret it, a billboard read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/try-jesus-you-won-t-regret-it-a-billboard-read/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [It's not about what hits Billboard or how many views you got on a video. It's about copies sold. It's about streams, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trippie-redd/it-s-not-about-what-hits-billboard-or-how-many-views-you-got-on-a/) [Trippie Redd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trippie-redd/) ## More by Larry Rivers > [I spent seven months in Africa and came back saying there isn't anything you can say about black people that you couldn't say about,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-rivers/i-spent-seven-months-in-africa-and-came-back-saying-there-isn-t/) [Larry Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-rivers/) > [I remember everything I know even the most superficial things. 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