by Erik Wennermark
It would be difficult to walk into any major museum in this country (or many others for that matter) and not encounter Dan Flavin's work, a condition that makes the intimate exhibition at Donald Young Gallery such a worthwhile visit.
Flavin is best known for sculptural installations composed of
fluorescent light tubes; two of the three pieces in the show provide a
representative glimpse of this body of work. "Untitled (for Ellen)" is
composed of pink, green and blue lights that occupy a corner of the
gallery, creating a sculptural presence out of the construction of the
tubes, the blended lights, and the geometry of the occupied space. The
work is well selected not to overwhelm the viewer -- as many of
Flavin's similar works could in such a small room -- fronted by a warm
pink glow with the harsher colors projected away from the viewer and
then radiated back into the gallery space.
A later work,
"Untitled (for John Heartfield), 3a," is dedicated to a German artist
whose Dada roots perhaps reminded an aging Flavin of the found-object,
almost-readymade work of his early career so well expressed by the
show's undeniable treasure, "East New York Shrine."
The small
mixed media sculpture from 1962 is a joy to behold. Composed of a Pope
Brand can of Italian peeled tomatoes and a light fixture with a
crucifix pull chain, the work has the potential to revel in it's own
flaunting of religious conviction, but the piece is so beautifully
constructed it is impossible not to acknowledge the possibility for
contradiction within that initial response. The words, "HOLY MOTHER
LOADED WITH GRACE PLEASE HELP JEANIE," while likewise loaded with
Flavin's own baggage gathered in his parochial school youth, do little
to dissuade this more nuanced reading. The work is a great tangle:
sarcastic and sad, festive and solemn, and alone worth the price of
admission (there is no price of admission).
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