Robert Irwin, Beacon Project
Long-term view, Dia Beacon
Robert Irwin, Rendering of Dia:Beacon, c. 1999. © Robert Irwin/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Overview
Robert Irwin’s design for Dia Beacon, Beacon Project (1999–2003), is the artist’s second collaboration with Dia Art Foundation, following Prologue: x183 (1998) and Excursus: Homage to the Square3 (1998/2015). Conceiving of Dia Beacon as a work of art in and of itself, Irwin made subtle interventions into the building’s lighting and developed a symmetrical floorplan to ensure that the galleries are presented nonhierarchically and without a single overarching historical or chronological narrative. Specifically envisioned for the display of the works in Dia’s collection, Irwin’s design maintains the character of the original structure—with the sole addition of an entry vestibule—and ensures that Dia Beacon’s expansive galleries are entirely lit by natural light.
The artist envisioned the museum as a “sequence of experiences” including riding the linear corridor of the Metro North railway up the Hudson River from Grand Central Station in New York City and descending into Dia Beacon’s parking lot. Taking Beacon’s local horticulture and seasonal light conditions—as well as the former Nabisco factory’s architecture—into consideration, Irwin’s design for the landscape surrounding Dia Beacon incorporates indigenous plants that bloom throughout the year. Considering the possible ambulatory paths one could take through the grounds, Irwin designed a garden on the museum’s west side to serve as a bridge between otherwise unconnected parts of the building.
About the Artist
Robert Irwin was born in Long Beach, California, in 1928. He studied at the Otis Art Institute (1948–50), Jepson Art Institute (1951), and Chouinard Art Institute (1952–54), all in Los Angeles. He has exhibited widely in North America and abroad, including recent presentations at Secession in Vienna (2013), Whitney Museum of American Art in New York (2013), Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (2012), and Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (2009). In 1993 the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles initiated a major retrospective of his work that subsequently traveled to Paris, Madrid, and Cologne. The largest exhibition of Irwin’s work since, Robert Irwin: Primaries and Secondaries, was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego from 2007 to 2008. His most notable texts are included in the book Notes toward a Conditional Art (2011). Irwin lives in San Diego, California.
Artist
Robert Irwin
Robert Irwin was born in Long Beach, California, in 1928. He lives and works in San Diego.
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