Dia: Beacon

Dan Flavin was born in New York City in 1933, and attended college at the New School for Social Research in1956 and Columbia University from 1957–59, studying in drawing and painting. His art career started with paintings that reflected Abstract Expressionism and he worked with collages as well. He eventually created his first light sculptures in 1961. One of his exhibits we saw in Dia: Beacon is a series of three installments called “monument” to V. Tatlin XI, 1964, “monument” to V. Tatlin, 1966, and “monument” to V. Tatlin, 1966—69.



This series immediately reminded me of Andy Warhol's photos of the Empire State Building, probably because they have similar perspectives. Flavin's work in general experiments with the way light and shadows are cast in a room. The chosen colors also contribute to how viewers perceive the space and how they feel in it. To me, this piece looks like the Empire State Building is lit up in the night. The repetition of the buildings and the simplicity of their form is a nod to Minimalism, but the diagonal lines create some tension that leads eyes directly into the next frame, and closes the space in front. I like his work because the repetition is in fact engaging, and the color choices can lead people's minds to wander. Simplicity is always effective.