Artist Dan Flavin transformed the mundane glow of fluorescent lamps, which typically illuminated factories and department stores, into washes of color, turning corporate lighting into aesthetic experiences. Flavin saw his use of the prefabricated fixtures as undermining the definition of art as unique and singularly produced. He deliberately maintained union labels on the lamps, still visible here, as an acknowledgment of otherwise unseen labor. At the same time, Flavin was protective of his status and his work. Easy access to his chosen medium meant that anyone could replicate his installations, which appealed to the artist’s irreverence but ultimately troubled him and his collectors, leading Flavin to issue certificates of authenticity such as the one for Untitled shown below.
Details
- Artist Name: Dan Flavin (American, 1933-1996)
- Title: Untitled
- Date: 1969
- Medium: Yellow fluorescent light
- Edition: Edition of 3, No. 1
- Dimensions: 50 x 9 in. (127 x 22.9 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Museum, Gift of Peggy Phelps
- Accession Number: P.1969.115
- Copyright: © Dan Flavin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Object Information
Peggy Phelps, gift 1969 to;
Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, 1969-1975;
Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena.
A Look at New York
- Pasadena Museum of Modern Art, 1973-06-12 to 1973-07-22
Permanent and Loan Collection, 1973
- Pasadena Museum of Modern Art, 1973-01-30 to 1973-12-31
Made in America: Contemporary Painting and Sculpture from the Norton Simon Museum
- Norton Simon Museum, 1999-06-24 to 2000-03-26
American Art of the 1960s from the Norton Simon Museum
- Los Angeles, The Temporary Contemporary, 1990-03-13 to 1990-06-13
- Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, Calif.), 1988-10-04 to 1989-02-05
Recent Acquisitions, 1969
- Pasadena Art Museum, 1969-11-24 to 1970-01-18
Works from the Pasadena Art Museum
- Vancouver Art Gallery, 1970-04-14 to 1970-05-10
Permanent and Loan Collection, 1974
- Pasadena Museum of Modern Art, 1974-03-16 to 1974-06-06
Image reproduction permission may be granted for scholarly or arts related commercial use. All image requests, regardless of their intended purpose, should be submitted via the reproduction request form.
Images may be protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. Additional permission may be required.
Please allow up to four weeks for your request to be reviewed. Approved requests for the reproduction of an image will receive a contract detailing all fees and conditions of use of the image. Upon receipt of both the signed contract and full payment, the Office of Rights and Reproductions will provide the image. A complimentary copy of the published material must be provided to the Norton Simon Museum.