Nuggets

Critical dialogues

Dan Graham (born in 1942, lives in New York City), began directing the John Daniels Gallery (NY) in 1964, where he put on Sol LeWitt’s first one-man show. In the group shows he organized he exhibited the works of Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, and Robert Smithson. Like these artists, Graham considered himself a writer-artist, publishing essays and reviews on rock music, Eisenhower’s paintings, and Dean Martin’s television show. His earliest work dealt with the magazine page, and one of his seminal early works was a series of magazine-style photographs with text, “Homes for America” (1966–1967). Focusing on cultural phenomena, and incorporating photography, video, performance, glass and mirror structures, Dan Graham’s practice has become a key part of the Conceptual art canon. He is a highly influential figure in the field of contemporary art, both as a practitioner and as a well-respected critic and theorist.

This volume brings together texts written on various artists he admires, as well as interviews collected since the 1990s, most notably on his large-scale installations incorporating mirrors—a culmination of his long examination of the psychological relationship between people and architecture.

This book is part of the “Positions” series, co-published with Les presses du réel and dedicated to artists’ writings.

Co-published with ECU Press, Vancouver.