Dan Flavin ~ (to Donna) II Background Information

Take a close look at the image of untitled (to Donna) II 1971 and then look at the original image used here at Fifty Two Pieces on December 17, 2009. Notice anything different? Voice from the Couch is always up for these sorts of questions and his response was the image is flipped. Yes, indeedy, that is a true statement. As the image exists out there on the internet, the blue bulb is on the left, pink on the right. Truth in blogging, I must tell you that as exhibited at the Portland Art Museum the blue tube on untitled (to Donna) II 1971 is on the right, pink on the left, yellows on the bottom. Images seem to get reversed as you can see in the Flickr photos below. Some show the blue on the right and others blue on the left.

Being intrigued by whether the blue should be on the right or on the left, I did some further sleuthing and found this image in "Portland Art Museum - Project for the Millenium". Voice from the Couch is kindly assisting in bringing you this image.

Not completely satisfied and knowing that Flavin made copious notes for each of his pieces, I did some further investigating into untitled (to Donna) II 1971. Flavin did dedicate his works to people – artists he admired such as Constantin Brancusi and Vladimir Tatlin, artists who were his friends like Donald Judd. It's unclear though who Donna was. What is clear is how untitled (to Donna) II 1971 should be set up. "How do you know that?" Voice from the Couch asked. Michael Govan's book "Dan Flavin: The Complete Lights" lists all of the 'untitled (to Donna)'s'. It turns out there are five editions of this work, each a bit different than the other. To complicate matters editions 4 and 5 have what I'll call a companion edition 4a and 5a. Click here to see the Google Book Result showing the colored layouts of the editions. Here's a written summary including the number fabricated:
untitled (to Donna) 1 1971 four bulbs (yellow on right, pink on left, two blues on bottom
Fabricated - 1
untitled (to Donna) 2 1971 four bulbs (blue on right, pink on left, two yellows on bottom
Fabricated - 2
untitled (to Donna) 3 1971 four bulbs (blue on right, yellow on left, two pinks on bottom
Fabricated - 1
untitled (to Donna) 4 1971 four bulbs (blue on right, yellow on left, one pink on top, one pink on bottom
Fabricated - 1
untitled (to Donna) 4a 1971 four bulbs (yellow on right, blue on left, one pink on top, one pink on bottom
Fabricated - 0
untitled (to Donna) 5 1971 four bulbs (blue on right, pink on left, one yellow on top, one yellow on bottom
Fabricated - 4
untitled (to Donna) 5a 1971 four bulbs (pink on right, blue on left, one yellow on top, one yellow on bottom
Fabricated - 4
The question still remains in my mind why the signage in the museum shows a Roman numeral and every place else lists an Arabic one. Does it matter or not? Some might say yes, since Flavin was such a stickler for documentation.

Dan Flavin ~ (to Donna) II, His Light and Others

Dan Flavin's week here at Fifty Two Pieces is almost over and we haven't included a single portrait of this artist who had studied to be a priest, served in the Air Force during the Korean War, worked as a guard at various New York museums, changed how we looked at florescent lights, married his second wife in the rotunda of the Guggenheim and ultimately died of complications from diabetes. To make up for that, here is Portrait of Flavin in Kornblee Gallery. It was taken by Arnold Newman in 1967 for Look Magazine. Those jagged edges make it a unique image, one that is not easily forgotten - much like experiencing a roomful of his work. The caption for this portrait says it all.

Flavin's 'proposals' usually take possession of an entire room, making it part of, rather than a container for, the effect. To simulate this, fold the four walls in the photograph up.

untitled (to Donna) II 1971 or as it is sometimes listed untitled (to Donna) 2 1971 is situated on the second floor of the CMCA at the Portland Art Museum. It does become part of the corner where it's installed. The other day the blue tube wasn't on and the entire effect was different. There was no mixing of the palette and the wall seemed so sterile by comparison to its normal colorful glow. Flavin's work in florescent tubes changed the public's view of this standard industrial light. There is other art at the museum that uses light, not florescent, but in the case of Joseph Kosuth, neon.





Five Words in Orange Neon is also part of the collection at the Portland Art Museum. To quote Flavin, Kosuth's work is what it is... five words in orange neon. Compared with Flavin's florescents though it's a different type of light, a different artistic approach. And one that enchanted Emma Paget. After her grandmother took her to the Portland Art Museum, little Emma sent a thank you note and included her version of Kosuth's sculpture.

Kosuth's orange neon has entranced young and old alike. A quick look at Flickr with Portland Art and neon as tags and you'll see any number of images of his work at PAM.
From a different museum and a different artist comes another view of light. Olafur Eliasson's take on light and our perceptions of light can currently be seen in Kanazawa, Japan. Just keep clicking on the page after you initially go to his website (click here) and you'll be able to view a portion of the exhibition. In 2008, I was able to experience Eliasson's exhibition entitled "Take Your Time" at MoMA. The museum's site has quite a few videos and other information about this artist's work with all of our senses, including sight and how light affects our perception of the world around us. The direct link for Eliasson at MoMA is here. Youtube has a portion of some of the MoMA videos. Watch them and you can hear Eliasson talk about his work and see some of his installations.

Dan Flavin ~ Untitled (To Donna) 2, 1971

Earlier today I had plans for writing about many things Flavin. Life intervened. I did experience light though. And light is what was important to Dan Flavin. The light for me today was Northwest light, gray overcast between rainstorms. Amy Gray and I (the two conspirators here at Fifty Two Pieces) took a hike. Of course it wasn't the conventional hike in Forest Park. We did one of the trails that bisected Wildwood, which runs more than 26 miles, and went past an encampment of who knows what gnomes. This particular trail is definitely off the beaten path and one that you should probably not do alone even if you're a guy. Hold still long enough and you can hear the whistling from Deliverance. Be that as it may, the trail itself was beautiful -- untouched and unspoiled by the multitudes. The green of the moss was Flavin Green, intense and holy. Being the former altar boy and seminary student, Flavin read and wrote poetry. Here is some poetry that he wrote in 1961 a few years before his first all florescent piece posted yesterday.
There were a number of to Donnas like the one here at the Portland Art Museum and their tubes were arranged differently. That's a discussion for another time and place, perhaps here on Fifty Two Pieces, but not tonight.

Dan Flavin ~ (to Donna) II and Diagonal of Personal Ecstasy

It's all about the light – that could be the subtitle of this post. With Dan Flavin (whether it's the Portland Art Museum's Unititled (to Donna) II or this image of Diagonal of Personal Ecstasy (the Diagonal of May 25, 1963) or any of his other more than 750 light sculptures), it's all about the light. Diagonal of Personal Ecstasy (the Diagonal of May 25, 1963) goes by many names. Sometimes it's listed as the Diagonal of May 25, 1963 and sometimes as the Diagonal of May 25, 1963 (to Constantin Brancusi). By whichever name it's listed, this single flourescent tube is the first piece of sculpture Flavin created with just florescent lighting. Prior to that he had been combining both florescent and incandescent lighting in his works.

In 1964, Dan Flavin had this to say about this work and his use of light in general.

"The 'diagonal' in its overt simplicity was only the installation of a distended or luminous line of a standard industrial device. Little artistic craft could be possible." 'Craft', in its strict, traditional definition may be absent from Flavin's oeuvre, but creativity, vision, and intellect remain commanding forces, The 'diagonal' of which the artist speaks is one his seminal works, 'the diagonal of May 25, 1963 (to Constantin Brancusci)' (1963). It presents nothing more than an eight foot long yellow - or "gold" - fluorescent light. This sparing composition was the result of a searching artistic exploration: the hunt for a format which "with obvious electric light ... could become my standard yet variable emblem—the 'icon'"

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Hear Flavin give an abbreviated version of his artistic statement in this very brief video...


And as a continuation of this week's string of videos here's another from David Zwirner, NYC (Nov 2009). Thanks to Youtube we can all enjoy room after room of Flavin light.

Dan Flavin ~ Untitled (To Donna) II 1971

Dan Flavin was my choice for this week at Fifty Two Pieces. I've always been intrigued by what Flavin could do with a palette restricted to the colors from florescent bulbs. In this case, pink, blue and yellow tell the story. While you're looking at this sculpture, remember what Kenneth Noland the famous color field painter said about his paintings.

I think of painting without subject matter as music without words.

Enjoy the music, I'm off to an holiday event!!!
Flavin's Untitled (To Donna) II 1971 can be seen on the second floor of the CMCA at the Portland Art Museum.