On Robert Mangold

Dan Graham

Dan Graham was born in Urbana, Illinois in 1942 and currently lives in New York City. Since the late 1970s Dan Graham has created pavilions for gardens or urban contexts. The adoption of architectural vocabulary, a staple element in Graham’s work, is a way of emphasizing how our environment fundamentally structures our gaze. The two-way mirror is an integral part of the pavilions, which allow light to enter the structure while protecting the privacy of those inside. In addition to the multifold play of reflection and reflexivity, this type of glass also makes us aware of the immediate past—a key notion in Graham’s work which he borrowed from Walter Benjamin and began exploring in the early 1970s through a variety of video-performances. In addition to his artistic practice Graham is also an accomplished writer and art critic.

Matthew L. Levy

Matthew L. Levy is Associate Professor of Art History at Penn State Behrend. His book, Abstract Painting and the Minimalist Critiques: Robert Mangold, David Novros, and Jo Baer in the 1960s was published by Routledge in 2019. Levy recently wrote Squaring Accounts, an essay published in the  (opens in a new window) catalogue accompanying the exhibition Robert Mangold: Paintings 2017–2019. The essay is also published (opens in a new window) online.