GRAHAM Dan

Dan Graham_For Gordon Bunshaft_2006Dan GRAHAM

For Gordon Bunshaft. Hirshorn Model, 2006

Two way mirror glass, aluminum, acrylic, wood
21 5/8 x 42 1/8 x 42 1/8 in. (55 x 107 x 107 cm.)

A self-taught artist, Graham entered the art world by founding a New York gallery, where he exhibited the works of Minimalists such as Carl Andre and Donald Judd. Inspired by the work of his gallery artists he became a performance, installation and video artist, a sculptor and photographer. His work in the genre of Conceptual Art is based on the conjunction of media, texture and form in the exploration of meaning in American culture. He set out to investigate the limits of the conception of representation and the boundaries that exist between a work of art and its viewer. Graham’s For Gordon Bunshaft (2006) is a model of a large-scale sculpture installed in the Hirshhorn’s sculpture garden in Washington D. C. The work is dedicated, as indicated in the title to American architect, Bunshaft, who was a leading advocate of Modern art and design in the 20th century. Graham calls these kinds of works ‘pavilions’, indicating their architectural form. The work is constructed from various media including two-way mirror, which implicates the viewer’s own body while they view the work. This element blurs the boundary between the subjecthood of the viewer and the objecthood of the artwork.