Flavin, Dan

* 1933 Jamaica - † 1996 New York

biography

Born: 1933 in Jamaica/NY. Died: 1996 in Riverhead, NY. Concept and light artist. 1956 studied at the New School for Social Research. 1957-59 art history at Columbia University, New York. 1961 first solo exhibition in New York. After abstract paintings, Flavin introduced light into his work for the first time in 1961 by installing light bulbs in painted wooden boxes ("Icons", 1961). His breakthrough to a strictly minimalist concept came with the revolutionary work "Diagonal of May 25" from 1963, dedicated to Brancusi, a 2.4 m long fluorescent tube with yellow light that was attached to the wall at a 45 degree angle. Similar to how Brancusi's column suggests endlessness through the repetition of identical segments, the light shining into the room abolishes the materiality of the luminaire. From 1963 onwards, Flavin worked exclusively with standardized fluorescent tubes with different colored lights, which he installed in different spatial situations. Despite the greatest possible reduction of formal means, the use of industrial items and the use of modular structures, Flavin did not rule out transcendental and mythological interpretations that are traditionally associated with the shedding of light. From the mid-1960s onwards, he marked predetermined spatial situations, such as floor or ceiling edges, with strips of light or illuminated areas and corners with light. This changed the spatial effect and irritated the perception. In 1977, Flavin left the gallery context and subsequently created various neon installations on buildings, such as in 1992 in the Guggenheim Museum New York and in 1996 for the outer facade of the Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum for Contemporary Art, Berlin.