American artist Dan Flavin was one of the most influential figures of the minimalist art movement. Completed in the last year of his life, Untitled is a marvel of art theory and contemporary sculptural philosophy. Standing almost two meters in height, this sculpture is comprised of four delicate pink and green fluorescent tubes that stretch upwards in unison. As the solid beams rise they emit light that casts everything within reach with a warm seductive glow. The colours of the beams remain solid near the tubes, but as they dissipate further away from the source the two colours begin to appear blended, as if they had been intervened with a paintbrush. By embracing, and in turn affecting the architecture that surrounds it, this piece demonstrates the power behind Flavin’s avant-garde practice. Through the illumination of an environment, intense and layered relationships begin to form between the viewer, the light, and the space creating a spellbinding and mesmerizing experience.

In this manner, Flavin used an ordinary object that can be found in supermarkets, shopping centres, and offices and drained it of meaning. He transformed this material and used it to create forms that could manipulate an intangible material: light. When asked why he first started using fluorescent tubes, Flavin explained, ‘I liked fluorescent light as a kind of typical modern light source that was so customary and taken for granted, that it would be ironic for me to abuse it.’ (R. Gaugert, Flavin Audio Interview, The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, 1973). Flavin remained very ambiguous about the influences that inspired his work throughout his career choosing not to affect the viewer’s experience by allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions. Acting as a beacon, Flavin’s Untitled, transforms the space around it and illuminates the viewer’s eyes with a captivating and entrancing glow.