Dan Flavin is usually known for his minimalist florescent light sculptures, but the new gallery at The Morgan Library and Museum gives some chronological insight to the artist’s development and inspiration. “The world knows Dan Flavin through the iconic fluorescent light installations on which his reputation rests,” said William M. Griswold, director of The Morgan Library and Museum. “But few people are aware that these magnificent pieces often began as sketches, schematic drawings, and diagrams on graph paper. Throughout his career, Flavin returned to drawing to explore new ideas and new themes, and collected drawings by old and modern masters to serve as sources of inspiration. The Morgan is delighted to present this first-ever retrospective look at the key role that drawing played in the creative process of one of the twentieth-century’s most innovative artists.”
The new gallery entitled Dan Flavin: Drawing, begins in a single room featuring a single piece called “Untitled (in honor of Harold Joachim) 3.” Vertically stacked rows of blue and green florescent lights face into the corner, counterbalancing the perpendicular pink and yellow lights that light the rest of the room. This piece serves as a well-placed introduction to the artist whose personal retrospective is contained within the complete gallery a floor above.
A familiar glow emanates from the clear glass doors upstairs: a similar, and somehow even more minimalistic light installation greets you upon entering the exhibit. This time though, it’s just a single vertical rod holding the four fluorescent colors, pink and yellow face out while green and blue light the wall it leans on. It’s here that we’re transitioned into the artist’s life, beginning with his earliest works, some of which prove the literary sources of his inspiration. Several drawings display the same handwritten verse of James Joyce’s Chamber Music encircled by erratic swatches of color, one of the few times paint makes an appearance in this collection.
Following his earliest works come his landscapes and nature inspired pieces, the most impressive of these being the “Sails” collection done in 1986. These three drawings feature abstracted sails made of only two lines, being crashed upon by violent blue pastel and charcoal waves. Minimalist to its extreme, Flavin’s signature use of lines becomes relevant, a theme only emphasized by the culmination of his florescent light drawings that take center stage at the core of the exhibit.
Pages from his miniature notebooks are laid out, and his line drawings cover the walls of this space, although it’s interesting that the drawings themselves are mostly empty. The most detailed of these pieces show representations of galleries as three-dimensional rectangular boxes viewed from above, sprinkled with indications of where his florescent lights would be placed.
“White around a corner of April 26, 1965” consists of only four lines. Two black lines are set at angles to create the illusion of a room, and two white lines head vertically up at their intersection, illustrating a Flavin work once featuring cool white bulbs in vertical combinations.
The back of the gallery is made up of works from Flavin’s own personal collection, where the inspiration for some of his work can be found in 19th century penciled landscapes and the geometrical pieces of Flavin’s own companion, Donald Judd.
This gallery is an interesting compilation of private works that were never intended for this kind of setting. You can almost see Flavin’s string of consciousness as you walk through, the movement from lines to light bulbs to light tubes that are now only rendered as paper thoughts.
Photos, from top:
1. Photo by Lindsey Davis.
2. Dan Flavin (1933-1996)
in honor of Harold Joachim in pink, yellow, blue and green fluorescent light 8’ high and wide, 1984
Pen and ink and colored pencil on graph paper
17 x 21 7/8 inches (43.2 x 55.6 cm)
Drawing done by Helene Geary
Collection of Stephen Flavin
© 2012 Stephen Flavin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
3. Dan Flavin (1933-1996)
untitled (to the real Dan Hill) 1a, 1978
pink, yellow, green, and blue fluorescent light
8 ft. (244 cm) high, leaning
© 2012 Stephen Flavin/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Photo by Billy Jim, New York
Courtesy of David Zwirner, New York
4. Dan Flavin (1933-1996)
sails, 1986
Pastel
11 x 14 inches (35.6 x 28 cm)
Collection of Stephen Flavin
© 2012 Stephen Flavin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Dan Flavin (1933-1996)
proposals for (in memory of “Sandy” Calder), 1977 Graphite pencil and colored pencil on graph paper 17 x 21 7/8 inches (43.2 x 55.6 cm)
Collection of Stephen Flavin
© 2012 Stephen Flavin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
All Photography: Graham S. Haber, 2011
Dan Flavin: Drawing
The Morgan Library and Museum
225 Madison Avenue
212-685-0008
