Two Intersecting Sine Waves

Dan Graham’s »Two Intersecting Sine Waves« was commissioned by the Kunsthalle and belongs to the series “Pavilions”. In this work the artist, an exponent of Concept Art and Minimal Art, combines architecture and sculpture. Generally employing steel, glass and mirrored surfaces, Graham experiments with forms—from rectangles to the sinus curves in the title—in order to create his characteristic spaces which are often accessible to viewers.

In the broad glass surfaces of the “Pavilions” he works with different degrees of transparency and mirroring. Thus the half-transparent glass of the »Two Intersecting Sine Waves« becomes an experiment in perception. The viewer sees the scene behind the glass, but can also observe himself in the act of looking, while direct sunlight or a cloudy sky change the degree of transparency and thus the overall impression.
The “Pavilions”, tailored to their environment, question our sense of space, with a duplication of the perceptual levels on the glass surfaces blurring the clear distinction between the observer and the observed.