Dan Graham (American, b. 1942), Bisected Circle, 2019. Two-way mirror glass and stainless steel, 92 ½ x 276". Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, Art on Campus fund, 2019. Photo by Joshua White / JWPictures.com
Isolation, Bisected: Dan Graham’s Pavilion at Washington University
UPDATE AS OF 10/12/21: This program will take place in the Museum lobby. To enter the building, guests must follow updated University guidelines and complete the visitor self-screening as well as show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. View details
Dan Graham’s Bisected Circle (2019) investigates isolation and community through space, subjectivity, and self-awareness. While not created in response to COVID-19 pandemic, the artwork is especially poignant during this time of social distancing and physical isolation. Composed of curving two-way mirror glass, Bisected Circle distorts our sense of what’s real and what’s reflected, Bisected Circle places its viewers in solitude while simultaneously putting them conversation with their surroundings. This talk by Margaret Crocker, graduate student in the Brown School, will situate Bisected Circle within the history of public art and land art to explore its presence on our campus. By interacting with the artwork (weather permitting), attendees can experience the ways community and solitude coalesce in a work of art.
About the speaker
Margaret Crocker earned her MA in art history from Washington University in January 2021. Her research interests include visual culture, feminist art, immersive art spaces, and video art. Recently she presented a paper on the video artist Candice Breitz’s approach to binary structures at the University of Montreal’s Arts and Medias conference. She is currently pursuing an MSW from the Brown School at Washington University.