Editing Dan Flavin (section)

==Work==
{{Main|List of light sculptures by Dan Flavin}}

===Early work===
Flavin's first works were drawings and paintings that reflected the influence of [[Abstract Expressionism]]. In 1959, he began to make assemblages and mixed media collages that included found objects from the streets, especially crushed cans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.paulacoopergallery.com/exhibitions/391|title = Paula Cooper Gallery}}</ref><ref name="nga.gov"/>

In the summer of 1961, while working as a guard at the [[American Museum of Natural History]] in New York, Flavin started to make sketches for sculptures that incorporated electric lights.<ref name="Guggenheim Museum Bio"/> The first works to incorporate electric light were his "Icons" series: eight colored shallow, boxlike square constructions made from various materials such as wood, Formica, or Masonite. Constructed by the artist and his then-wife Sonja,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hinant|first1=Cindy|last2=Guagnini|first2=Nicolas|title=FLAV|date=2010|publisher=Cin & Nic}}</ref> the ''Icons'' had fluorescent tubes with incandescent and fluorescent bulbs attached to their sides, and sometimes beveled edges. One of these icons was dedicated to Flavin's twin brother David, who died of [[polio]] in 1962.<ref>[http://www.diacenter.org/ltproj/flavbrid/essay.html Tiffany Bell, diacenter.org] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807211446/http://www.diacenter.org/ltproj/flavbrid/essay.html |date=August 7, 2007 }} accessed August 25, 2007</ref>

===Mature work===
[[File:Wissenschaftspark 02.jpg|thumb|right |300px |One of Flavin's last works was the lighting for a glass-enclosed arcade (1996) at the ''[[:de:Wissenschaftspark Rheinelbe|Wissenschaftspark Rheinelbe]]'' (Rhine-Elbe Science Park) in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The arcade was designed by [[:de:Uwe Kiessler|Uwe Kiessler]]; it stretches {{convert|300|m|ft}}, and connects nine buildings.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dan Flavin: the complete lights, 1961-1996 |publisher=Yale University Press |first1=Tiffany |last1=Bell |first2=Michael |last2=Govan |first3=Earl A. |last3=Powell |first4=Brydon |last4=Smith |first5=Jeffrey |last5=Weiss |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-300-10633-6 |page=410 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=14H6gpbn4SMC&pg=PA410 |quote=For a large complex of office buildings called ''Wissenschaftspark Rheinelbe'' in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, designed by Uwe Kiessler of the architectural firm Kiessler + Partner, Flavin was commissioned to light an enclosed arcade. This passageway, which has a large glass facade with sections that can be opened in warm weather, connects nine buildings. On three unobstructed walls that enclose elevator shafts, Flavin placed vertical structures made of two parallel, adjacent rows of six 4-foot (122 cm) fixtures each, all with blue lamps. Intersecting at the 4-foot intervals, six 4-foot fixtures with green lamps were placed horizontally to form a cross-like pattern. At the top of one large wall, near the main entrance but after the first elevator shaft, is a horizontal row of thirteen 4-foot fixtures with green lamps. They are mounted on the wall at the ceiling joint. This work was installed shortly before Flavin's death, although the building did not open officially until 1997.}}</ref>]]

The ''Diagonal of Personal Ecstasy (the Diagonal of May 25, 1963)'', a yellow fluorescent placed on a wall at a 45-degree angle from the floor and completed in 1963, was Flavin's first mature work; it is dedicated to [[Constantin Brâncuși]] and marks the beginning of Flavin's exclusive use of commercially available fluorescent light as a medium. A little later, ''The Nominal Three (to William of Ockham)'' (1963) consists of six vertical fluorescent tubes on a wall, one to the left, two in the center, three on the right, all emitting white light.<ref>Holland Cotter (December 4, 2009), [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/arts/design/04guidechelsea.html Golden Oldies All Over Chelsea] ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref> He confined himself to a limited palette (red, blue, green, pink, yellow, ultraviolet, and four different whites<ref>[[Adrian Searle]] (January 24, 2006), [https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2006/jan/24/3 Strip tease] ''[[The Guardian]]''.</ref>) and form (straight two-, four-, six-, and eight-foot tubes, and, beginning in 1972, circles).<ref>[http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2004/flavin/hardware/hardware.shtm Dan Flavin: A Retrospective, October 3, 2004–January 9, 2005] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508013725/http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2004/flavin/hardware/hardware.shtm |date=May 8, 2012 }} [[National Gallery of Art]], Washington, D.C.</ref> In the decades that followed, he continued to use fluorescent structures to explore color, light and sculptural space, in works that filled gallery interiors. He started to reject studio production in favor of site-specific "situations" or "proposals" (as the artist preferred to classify his work).<ref>[http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/artwork/1310 Dan Flavin, ''untitled (to Ward Jackson, an old friend and colleague who, during the Fall of 1957 when I finally returned to New York from Washington and joined him to work together in this museum, kindly communicated)'' (1971)] Guggenheim Collection.</ref> These structures cast both light and an eerily colored shade, while taking a variety of forms, including "corner pieces", "barriers," and "corridors". Most of Flavin's works were untitled, followed by a dedication in parentheses to friends, artists, critics and others: the most famous of these include his ''Monuments to V. Tatlin'', a homage to the Russian [[constructivism (art)|constructivist]] sculptor [[Vladimir Tatlin]], a series of a total of fifty pyramidal wall pieces<ref name="nytimes.com"/> which he continued to work on between 1964 and 1990.

Flavin realized his first full installation piece, greens crossing greens (''to Piet Mondrian who lacked green''), for an exhibition at the [[Van Abbemuseum]], Eindhoven, Netherlands, in 1966.<ref name=gugjanron>[http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/artwork/1311 Dan Flavin, ''untitled (to Jan and Ron Greenberg)'' (1972-73)] Guggenheim Collection.</ref> In 1968 the [[Heiner Friedrich]] Gallery in Munich exhibited the light installation "Two primary series and one secondary", presented in three exhibition rooms, which Flavin developed especially for the gallery. The collector [[Karl Ströher]] purchased the installation in the same year. [[Peter Iden]], founding director of the [[Museum für Moderne Kunst]] Frankfurt acquired the installation together with 86 other works from the former [[Ströher Collection]] for the Frankfurt Museum. After a first presentation in 1989,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dan Flavin : the complete lights, 1961-1996|last=Govan|first=Michael|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|isbn=0300106335|location=New Haven, Conn|pages=272–275}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main: 2. Informationsheft zur Architektur und Sammlung = Museum of Modern Art, Frankfurt am Main : 2nd publication on the architecture and collection.|last=Lauter|first=Rolf|publisher=Museum für Moderne Kunst|year=1989|location=Frankfurt|pages=48–49}}</ref> it was shown in various exhibitions at the museum between 1999 and 2002.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Zehn Jahre Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt am Main|last=Bee|first=Andreas|publisher=DuMont|year=2003|isbn=3832156291|location=Köln|pages=543}}</ref> Flavin himself examined the installation in Frankfurt in February 1993 and then adapted his installation concept for the museum.<ref>In a letter to Rolf Lauter from Steve Morse, Dan Flavin LTD Studio from March 4, 1993</ref>

Flavin's "corridors", for example, control and impede the movement of the viewer through gallery space. They take various forms: some are bisected by two back-to-back rows of abutted fixtures, a divider that may be approached from either side but not penetrated (the color of the lamps differs from one side to the other). The first such corridor, ''untitled (to Jan and Ron Greenberg)'', was constructed for a 1973 solo exhibition at the [[St. Louis Art Museum]], and is dedicated to a local gallerist and his wife. It is green and yellow; a gap (the width of a single "missing" fixture) reveals the cast glow of the color from beyond the divide. In subsequent barred corridors, Flavin would introduce regular spacing between the individual fixtures, thereby increasing the visibility of the light and allowing the colors to mix.<ref name="gugjanron" />

By 1968, Flavin had developed his sculptures into room-size environments of light. That year, he outlined an entire gallery in ultraviolet light at [[Documenta]] 4 in [[Kassel]], Germany. In 1992, Flavin's original conception for a 1971 piece was fully realized in a site-specific installation that filled the [[Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum]]'s entire rotunda on the occasion of the museum's reopening.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://perfectpicturelights.com/blog/dan-flavin|title=Five Illuminating Facts About Dan Flavin|website=Perfect Picture Lights}}</ref>

Flavin generally conceived his sculptures in editions of three or five, but would wait to create individual works until they had been sold to avoid unnecessary production and storage costs. Until the point of sale, his sculptures existed as drawings or exhibition copies. As a result, the artist left behind more than 1,000 unrealized sculptures when he died in 1996.<ref>Julia Halperin (June 6, 2013), [http://theartnewspaper.com/articles/Flavins-will-see-the-light-of-day/29751 Flavins will see the light of day] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609170957/http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Flavins-will-see-the-light-of-day/29751 |date=June 9, 2013 }} ''[[The Art Newspaper]]''.</ref>

===Permanent installations===
[[File:Untitled Flavin Anchorage 1980.jpg|thumb|right|''untitled (to Tom)'' (1980) at the James M. Fitzgerald US Courthouse and Federal Building in [[Anchorage]]]]
From 1975, Flavin installed permanent works in Europe and the United States, including "Untitled. In memory of Urs Graf" at the Kunstmuseum Basel (conceived 1972, realized 1975);<ref>{{cite web|title="Piet Mondrian – Barnett Newman – Dan Flavin", Kunstmuseum Basel, 2013.|url=http://www.kunstmuseumbasel.ch/en/exhibitions/past/piet-mondrian-barnett-newman-dan-flavin/|access-date=August 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819090125/http://www.kunstmuseumbasel.ch/en/exhibitions/past/piet-mondrian-barnett-newman-dan-flavin/|archive-date=August 19, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> the [[Kröller-Müller Museum]], Otterlo, Netherlands (1977); [[Hudson River Museum]], Yonkers, New York (1979); United States Courthouse, Anchorage, Alaska (1979–89); the Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Germany (1989); the lobby of the [[MetroTech Center]] (with [[Skidmore, Owings & Merrill]]), Brooklyn, New York (1992); seven lampposts outside the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich (1994); [[Hypovereinsbank]], Munich (1995); Institut Arbeit und Technik/Wissenschaftspark, Gelsenkirchen, Germany (1996); and the Union Bank of Switzerland, Bern (1996).  Additional sites for Flavin's architectural "interventions" were the [[Grand Central Terminal|Grand Central Station]] in New York (1976), [[Hamburger Bahnhof]] in Berlin (1996), and the [[Chinati Foundation]] in Marfa, Texas (2000). His large-scale work in colored fluorescent light for six buildings at the [[Chinati Foundation]] was initiated in the early 1980s, although the final plans were not completed until 1996.<ref>[http://www.chinati.org/visit/collection/danflavin.php Dan Flavin, ''untitled (Marfa project)'' (1996)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421042224/http://www.chinati.org/visit/collection/danflavin.php |date=April 21, 2012 }} Chinati Foundation, Marfa.</ref> His last artwork was a [[site-specific art|site-specific work]] at [[Santa Maria Annunciata in Chiesa Rossa]], Milan. The 1930s church was designed by [[Giovanni Muzio]]. The design for the piece was completed two days before Flavin's death on November 29, 1996. Its installation was completed one year later with the assistance of the [[Dia Art Foundation|Dia Center for the Arts]] and [[Fondazione Prada]].<ref>"Dan Flavin", brochure, S. Maria in Chiesa Rossa, Fondazione Prada, Dia Center for the Arts, 1997. Essay by Michael Govan.</ref>

The [[Menil Collection]] in Houston, Texas states that in 1990 Dominique de Menil approached Flavin to create a permanent, site-specific installation at Richmond Hall. Two days before his death in November 1996 Flavin completed the design for the space. The artist's studio completed the work.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.menil.org/visit/flavin.php|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413000954/http://www.menil.org/visit/flavin.php|url-status=dead|title=Menil Collection at|archivedate=April 13, 2010}}</ref>

[[Dia Bridgehampton]], a museum in [[Bridgehampton]], New York opened in 1983 as the Dan Flavin Art Institute. It is run by the [[Dia Art Foundation]] and houses nine fluorescent light works by Flavin on permanent display in a gallery designed for them.<ref name="DIA">[https://diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/dia-bridgehampton-bridgehampton-united-states Dia Bridgehampton]. [[Dia Art Foundation]]. Retrieved July 19, 2020.</ref> in 1975 Dia installed ''[[Untitled (In memory of Urs Graf)]]'' at [[Kunstmuseum Basel]] as its first permanent installation.<ref name="INTRO">''An Introduction to Dia's Locations and Sites''. [[Dia Art Foundation]]. p. 98.</ref><ref name= "KUNST">{{Cite web |url=https://sammlungonline.kunstmuseumbasel.ch/eMP/eMuseumPlus?service=direct/1/ResultDetailView/result.inline.list.t1.collection_list.$TspTitleLink.link&sp=13&sp=Sartist&sp=SfilterDefinition&sp=0&sp=1&sp=1&sp=SdetailView&sp=39&sp=Sdetail&sp=0&sp=T&sp=0&sp=SdetailList&sp=0&sp=F&sp=Scollection&sp=l1154 |title=untitled In memory of Urs Graf |access-date=2023-05-28 |website=[[Kunstmuseum Basel]]}}</ref>

===Drawing===
Living in [[Wainscott, New York|Wainscott]] and [[Garrison, New York|Garrison]], Flavin often drew the surrounding landscape, whether it was the [[Hudson Valley]] or the waters off Long Island. He also created small portraits and kept about 20 volumes of journals. Flavin collected drawings too, including works by [[Hudson River School]] artists like [[John Frederick Kensett]], [[Jasper Francis Cropsey]], and [[Sanford Robinson Gifford]], along with examples of works on paper by early-19th-century Japanese artists like [[Hokusai]] and 20th-century European masters like [[Piet Mondrian]] and [[George Grosz]]. Flavin also exchanged works with Minimalist colleagues like [[Donald Judd]] and [[Sol LeWitt]].<ref>Carol Vogel (December 22, 2011), [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/arts/design/dan-flavin-at-the-morgan-public-art-in-washington.html The Morgan Will Show Another Side of Flavin] ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref>