Dan Graham. Video/Architecture/Performance

This video, narrated by the artist, comes with a booklet to accompany the first major exhibition of the work of US-American artist Dan Graham (1942 Urbana–2022 New York, US) in Austria in 1995. In this exhibition, Graham presented several video installations and videos, architecture and models of projects in public space, and conceptual works. On the opening evening, he presented his performance Performer/Audience/Mirror (first performed in 1975).

Especially for the exhibition, the Graham conceived a room-filling installation entitled New Design for Showing Videos, which was realized as a central work in the large hall and ultimately acquired for the EA-Generali Foundation’s collection. In addition to transparent glass and two-way mirrors, punched aluminum was also used for the first time for the new video showroom, a reference by Graham to the pixels of the video image. In the five booths of the pavilion, three (mirrored) programs with videos by the artist on rock music and performance as well as video documentations of some his architecture in public space were shown on six monitors.

Opposite New Design for Showing Videos, which is reminiscent of the shape of a swastika, Graham’s model of the Star of David Pavilion (1989), which he had designed (but not realized) for the Kunstraum Buchberg was placed right at the entrance to the exhibition. Other pavilions and installations in the exhibition were Revolving Doors for Loie Fuller (1987) and Triangle with Circular Inserts (1991) as well as the video installations Opposing Mirror and Monitors on Time Delay (1974), Yesterday/Today (1975) Two Viewing Rooms (1975). Also on view were models for projects in public space, including Alteration to a Suburban House (1978), Two-Way Mirror and Hedge Labyrinth (1989), Children’s Pavilion (together with Jeff Wall, 1989), Museum for Gordon Matta-Clark (together with Marie Paul McDonald, 1984) and the Skateboard Pavilion (1989).