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Dan Graham's Yin/Yang Pavilion was installed in the fall
of 2002 on an outdoor terrace in Simmons Hall designed to house
it by Steven Holl Architects. Commissioned through MIT's Percent-for-Art
Program administered by the List Visual Arts Center, the pavilion
is made of concave and convex two-way mirrored glass, a medium that
creates constant fluctuations between transparency and reflection.
The pavilion is activated by viewers who move through its curving
spaces and experience anamorphic reflections of the sky, surrounding
objects and landscape, and other spectators superimposed on each
other. Graham says,
"The
observer becomes conscious of himself as a body, as a perceiving
subject, and of himself in relation to his group. This is the reversal
of the usual 'loss of self' when a spectator looks at a conventional
art work."
The floor of the Yang half of the circular pavilion is covered with
white raked gravel referring to Japanese Zen gardens, while the
Yin floor contains a shallow pool. The interactive and interpersonal
nature of Graham's artwork is further enhanced by the addition of
seating surrounding the pavilion.
Dan Graham was born in
Urbana, Illinois in 1942. He lives and works in New York City
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MIT List Visual Arts Center