Architectural Installation Pioneer: Donna Dennis on Scale, Space & Feminism
Episode 43
Anastasia Parmson, Donna Dennis
5/26/20262 min read
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Donna Dennis is one of the contemporary art pioneers who pushed sculpture toward the domain of architecture in the early 1970s. Her complex sculptural installations draw from overlooked fragments of American vernacular architecture.
This conversation dives into five decades of art-making in New York's evolving art world. We discuss how she taught herself carpentry, pipe bending and electrical work to build pieces based on her body's scale. How Virginia Woolf's "Shakespeare's sister" gave her the drive to make work even if no one ever saw it. How feminism shaped her False Front Hotels as self-portraits when she decided "women's lives were worthy of study." And why she refuses to use the word "practice" to describe her work.
Donna's work is held in collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Walker Art Center, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Key moments from this episode:
• From failing at abstract painting in Paris to her first steps toward installation
• SoHo in the 1970s: how big raw loft spaces made it possible for artists to think big
• A car roll into the river in slow motion, with Donna’s belongings inside – and how that inspired a public artwork that also suffered a tragic end
• ”A woman made this!?" The comment that captures why size mattered
Donna Dennis is based in Germantown, New York. You can learn more about her work and subscribe to her newsletter on her website: https://www.donnadennisart.com
And follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donnadennisstudio
03:00 Hudson Valley Roots
04:07 Rapid Fire Warmup
05:06 Virginia Woolf Feminist Purpose
07:28 Night Studio Rituals
09:40 Early Art Calling
12:36 From Painting to Installations
47:28 Storage Risks
49:58 Hidden Vistas
51:19 Meaning And Mystery
54:34 Audience Boundaries
57:09 Vandalism Tale
01:04:01 Funding Choices and Final Reflections
Books mentioned:
Writing Toward Dawn: Journals 1969-1982: https://www.donnadennisart.com/publications/writing-toward-dawn
Donna Dennis: A Poet in Three Dimensions: https://www.donnadennisart.com/publications/donna-dennis-poet-in-three-dimensions
Also mentioned in this episode:
Petah Coyne: https://www.petahcoyne.org/ | https://www.instagram.com/petahcoyne/
Episode with Petah Coyne: https://installationartpodcast.com/petah-coyne-032
Robert Fulton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fulton
Virginia Woolf: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Room_of_One's_Own
Gustave Doré: https://www.wikiart.org/en/gustave-dore
Ben Shahn “The Shape of Content”: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/284780.The_Shape_of_Content
Art Students League: https://www.artstudentsleague.org/ | https://www.instagram.com/aslnyc/ @ArtStudentsLeagueNY
Martha Diamond: https://marthadiamondtrust.org/ |
Carleton College: https://www.carleton.edu/ | https://www.instagram.com/carletoncollege | @CarletonCollege
Claes Oldenburg: https://www.wikiart.org/en/claes-oldenburg
Jane Bowles “Two Serious Ladies”: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/215262.Two_Serious_Ladies
Deafman Glance by Robert Wilson: https://robertwilson.com/deafman-glance
History of Art by Horst Waldemar Janson: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/2693801-history-of-art
Peter Schjeldahl: https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/peter-schjeldahl
The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/ | https://www.instagram.com/newyorkermag/ | @newyorker
The Poetry Project: https://www.poetryproject.org/ | https://www.instagram.com/poetry_project @ThePoetryProject
Holly Solomon: https://bonhams.shorthandstories.com/the-collection-of-holly-solomon/
Andy Warhol: https://www.wikiart.org/en/andy-warhol
Denise Green: https://www.denisegreen.net/ |
Judy Pfaff: https://www.judypfaffstudio.com/ | https://www.instagram.com/judy.pfaff/
Whitney Biennial: https://whitney.org/exhibitions/the-biennial | https://www.instagram.com/whitneymuseum/ | @whitney_museum
Venice Biennale: https://www.labiennale.org/en | https://www.instagram.com/labiennale/ | @BiennaleChannel
O’Flaherty’s: https://www.donnadennisart.com/exhibitions/houses-and-hotels | https://www.instagram.com/oflahertys.nyc/
