Dan Graham

Homes for America
Exhibition from 10 November to 23 Décember 2005

The Galerie Depardieu introduce one of the conceptual American artists Dan Graham’s most significant production : Homes for America (1966/67), seven elements of 70 X 100 inches which are in reality enlarges pages of the Art Magazine review. In effect, from 1965 to 1969, Dan Graham has published his pieces of work in various periodicals, in the form of simple word’s registers like in Scheme (1965) and Schema (1966). He tried to establish an alternative gallery by introducing his pieces of work in review pages form. By making disappear the existent limits between art production and her physical representation, he wanted to erase, through production’s immateriality, what separates artistic product and observant. His aim was to reach an art quality which is not any more intuitive but of a pure and complete information. That’s why this exposition’s context is so important for his acting manners. His work’s image conform therefore in printed page’s space, following a logical sequence which will form real analytic character’s “linguistic constructions”. So Homes for America can be considered, by taking into account of his linguistic contextual and photographic structure, as an emblematic production of this age where conceptual language prevailed. It’s a variation on the typical house’s typographies, houses which fill peripheral zones of the American cities. The article content to which this work agree document certain choices of houses designated by very musical nouns like, for example : The Sonata or The Nocturne. Among various colours which differentiate her, the author quote some of them as : Sea foam green and colonial red. Even if habitations are virtually similar Graham show how the language try hard to conceal their uniformity by giving her various nouns as : Fairhaven, Pleasant Grove or Sunset Hill Garden. This habitation modules are suggested in potential purchaser. While making take out probably objective quality of their forms and colours, artist highlight the linguistic phraseology employed by the seller for push forward defences and possible shade which make the product more desirable and then purchasable. A next work, in 1969 Income Piece blend in on the idea of art as an investment. Treating the spectator of speculator, Graham send out actions of the Graham Inc. in 10$ piece and their make publicities on several reviews and dailies. He considered it as a method for examine and overturn art’s world, as part come from a real economic and social world wanting so to dip into the socio economic system, from where normally, art and artist’s ego where excluded. From the 70’s, Dan Graham realize performances by searching interaction with public among whom reactions are video recorded. In 1978, he start the pavilion series with glasses and mirrors installed in parks and gardens. Then, he get close more an more of architecture, in theoretical level and performing as the projects Children’s Pavilion (1981) and Cylindrical an double face mirror in a cube for the Dia Center of Arts of New York.

For more information or request for visual, contact us