拍品專文
Dan Flavin's Monument 4 for those who have been killed in ambush (to P.K. who reminded me about death) was exhibited at the influential Primary Structures show at The Jewish Museum in 1966. Created during the Vietnam War, some critics have imagined "P.K." as a possible reference to the death of Dan Flavin's brother in Vietnam, even though Flavin's brother actually died several years before the war. "P.K.," however, is Paul Katz, a friend of artist's, who was a World War II veteran, a painter, and professional photographer for the Guggenheim Museum.
Uncommon for Flavin's fluorescent light works, the expressiveness of the title is carried over into the visual conception of the work. As Flavin himself mentioned in an interview in 1972, this was exceptional among his light works in that its form was clearly bound up with its symbolic dedication.
Dan Flavin also served in the US Air Force in Korea (1954-1955) and witnessed how heavily the Korean War, the first armed confrontation of the Cold War, damaged the whole country. Inspired by an incident in the war in Vietnam yet, Monument 4 for those who have been killed in ambush (to P.K. who reminded me about death) extends far beyond this event. Far from a standard war memorial, the existential memorial will remain spaceless and timeless.
Uncommon for Flavin's fluorescent light works, the expressiveness of the title is carried over into the visual conception of the work. As Flavin himself mentioned in an interview in 1972, this was exceptional among his light works in that its form was clearly bound up with its symbolic dedication.
Dan Flavin also served in the US Air Force in Korea (1954-1955) and witnessed how heavily the Korean War, the first armed confrontation of the Cold War, damaged the whole country. Inspired by an incident in the war in Vietnam yet, Monument 4 for those who have been killed in ambush (to P.K. who reminded me about death) extends far beyond this event. Far from a standard war memorial, the existential memorial will remain spaceless and timeless.