The making of a new "differential space" : permanent site-specific art in America and the Dia Art Foundation (1974-2006) / Mira Banay.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Banay, Mira, author.

Series:

Humboldt-Schriften zur Kunst- und Bildgeschichte ; 18.

Humboldt-schriften zur kunst- und bildgeschichte ; 18

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Dia Art Foundation.

Site-specific art--United States.

Site-specific art.

United States.

Physical Description:

264 pages : illustrations (some color), maps, plan ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Berlin : Gebr. Mann Verlag, [2014]

Summary:

Permanent site-specific artworks were erected in the 1970s both in urban sites and remote deserts in southwestern United States. None of these artworks would have been possible without the support of private and public funding, with the most influential being the Dia Art Foundation. Dia, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1974 by the German art dealer Heiner Friedrich in collaboration with Philippa de Menil, an heiress to the Schlumberger OILfield services fortune. Works have been realized by Walter De Maria, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Michael Heizer, and James Turrell. The American desert underwent considerable change and development, gradually becoming home to scientific research centers, military installations and nuclear testing sites, as well as a hub of artistic activity. The book focuses on the socio-political significance of the site-specific art in which this multifunctional space is an essential element. The physical and social context endows the works with added values, turning them into visual signs of an alternative space. The new space the works have created may well be dubbed a "differential space," as defined by the French sociologist and philosopher Henri Lefebvre. They serve as a form of "reparation," whereby the concrete object is used to achieve repression through enchantment. Book jacket.

Contents:

Chapter I Socioeconomic Aspects of Art in Modern America and the Rise of the Dia Art Foundation 19

The Sociological Context of Contemporary American Art in the 1960s and 1970s 19

Earthworks in the Context of the Political Atmosphere of 1968 21

The New Generation of American Artists in the Postmodern Age 22

The United States and West Germany: A "Special Relationship" 23

American Funding Principles 28

A Case hi Point: Financial Resources of the Dia Art Foundation 38

The Art Industry in America 39

The Ramifications of Socioeconomic Factors for the American Art Industry 47

Chapter II Three Eras of the Dia Art Foundation 1974-2006 53

First Era, 1974-1985: Birth and Vision 53

Second Era, 1986-1994: Rehabilitation and Penetration into the Public Sphere 64

Third Era, 1994-2006: Display of Dia's Collection 71

An Overview of Dia's History to 2006 78

Chapter III Site-Specific Artworks and Site-Oriented Projects - a Hallmark of the Dia Art Foundation 87

Four Paradigms of Dia's Activities in the Realm of Site-Specific Art 90

Model I Supporting site-specific artists working in the desert of the American Southwest - Walter De Maria, The Lightning Field 90

The structure of The Lightning Field 101

The structuralist approach of Rosalind Krauss 111

Merlcau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception 114

Terry Eagleton's thesis of experience through corporeal senses 116

Vertical objects as archetypical modes of masculine expression 118

The Sublime as conceived by Edmund Burke and Immanuel Kant 119

The mystical approach 123

Dia's role in The Lightning Field 125

Model II Founding art institutes dedicated to a single artist - The Dan Flavin Art Institute 126

Dan Flavin's alliance with Dia 127

Dan Flavin's art 131

The Dan Flavin Art Institute 137

Rupture and reconciliation 141

Model III Collaborating with an existing project-Donald Judd's Marfa Project 143

The Marfa Project 148

100 untitled works in mill aluminum, 1982-1986 154

15 untitled works in concrete, 1980-1984 156

Judd's break with Dia 159

The Judd Foundation 161

Dia's renewed interest in the Marfa Project 162

Donald Judd and Giuseppe Panza 163

Model IV Three Urban Exhibition Spaces 166

"One artist - one artwork - one space - forever" 166

Dia:Chelsca 170

Dia:Beacon 171

Museum or non-museum? 179

Summary of Dia's fourth model 188

Plates 192

Chapter IV An Aesthetic Process: Reparation through Permanent Site-Specific Artworks in the American Desert 209

Contradictions Associated with the Transition from Temporality to Permanency 216

The Significance of Size 218

The Notion of Place and Space 221

The Desert Artworks as Pilgrimage Sites 239

The Site-Specific Artworks as Monuments 242.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9783786127055

3786127050

OCLC:

896846140