Dan Flavin
London
01 Apr 2013 - 14 Apr 2014
Dan Flavin, Monument' for V. Tatlin, 1966-9
Mixed media
object: 3054 x 584 x 89 mm
Purchased 1971© ARS, NY and DACS, London 2002
Mixed media
object: 3054 x 584 x 89 mm
Purchased 1971© ARS, NY and DACS, London 2002
One of two rooms devoted to Dan Flavin, this display features some of his extensive series of ‘monuments’ dedicated to the Russian constructivist artist Vladimir Tatlin. This display of sculptures by Dan Flavin includes works belonging to a collection of international contemporary art jointly owned by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland. It is known as ARTIST ROOMS and focuses on individual rooms devoted to particular artists.
Since his breakthrough work the diagonal of May 25, 1963 (to Constantin Brancusi), Flavin had dedicated his sculptures to other artists, philosophers, collectors, and dealers. He greatly admired early Russian avant-garde art, particularly the work of Tatlin, who he described as ‘the great revolutionary, who dreamed of art as science.’ In 1964 he embarked on a series of tower-shaped sculptures dedicated to Tatlin. Flavin continued to produce these ‘monuments’ until 1990.
The title of the series refers to Tatlin’s most famous unrealised project, the Monument to the Third International, designed in 1919–20. This 400-metre double-helix tower was intended to dwarf the Eiffel Tower and stand as the defining symbol of constructivist modernity.
Flavin’s monuments are among his most austere works, composed only of cool white fluorescent tubes and avoiding his characteristically exuberant use of colour. He also restricted himself to rectilinear, symmetrical arrangements, without the horizontal and diagonal elements included elsewhere.
Dan Flavin (1933–1996) was born in New York City. He lived and worked in New York City and Long Island, NY.
ARTIST ROOMS was established through The d’Offay Donation in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments, and is being shared with museums and galleries throughout the UK with additional generous support from The Art Fund and the Scottish Government.
Curated by Matthew Gale
Since his breakthrough work the diagonal of May 25, 1963 (to Constantin Brancusi), Flavin had dedicated his sculptures to other artists, philosophers, collectors, and dealers. He greatly admired early Russian avant-garde art, particularly the work of Tatlin, who he described as ‘the great revolutionary, who dreamed of art as science.’ In 1964 he embarked on a series of tower-shaped sculptures dedicated to Tatlin. Flavin continued to produce these ‘monuments’ until 1990.
The title of the series refers to Tatlin’s most famous unrealised project, the Monument to the Third International, designed in 1919–20. This 400-metre double-helix tower was intended to dwarf the Eiffel Tower and stand as the defining symbol of constructivist modernity.
Flavin’s monuments are among his most austere works, composed only of cool white fluorescent tubes and avoiding his characteristically exuberant use of colour. He also restricted himself to rectilinear, symmetrical arrangements, without the horizontal and diagonal elements included elsewhere.
Dan Flavin (1933–1996) was born in New York City. He lived and worked in New York City and Long Island, NY.
ARTIST ROOMS was established through The d’Offay Donation in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments, and is being shared with museums and galleries throughout the UK with additional generous support from The Art Fund and the Scottish Government.
Curated by Matthew Gale