Architectural Installation Pioneer: Donna Dennis on Scale, Space & Feminism

I made a 3-minute listener survey to help shape the podcast's future. Your feedback genuinely matters. Fill out here: https://forms.gle/qqHJrMXpsC9UYu2m7 Leave a voice message: https://www.speakpipe.com/installationartpodcast Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/installationartpodcast 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 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 The Holly Solomon Gallery story: from studio visit ("we're buying a country house") to "I'm starting a gallery and I want you to be in it"—then Whitney Biennial within two years Venice Biennale 1982: realizing in April the show is in June, not 1984—quit your job, six assistants, work doubling in size • 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/ The Installation Art Podcast is a show about people who love and work with the contemporary art medium of installation. The host Anastasia Parmson, an artist herself, interviews internationally renowned artists and arts workers about the intricacies and behind-the-scenes stories of creating and showing work that is site-specific, ephemeral, large scale or immersive. 🔔 Hit subscribe or follow wherever you’re listening to never miss a new episode. 📢 Follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/installationartpodcast/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@installationartpodcast 📚 More information about the show and previous episodes: www.installationartpodcast.com Your host Anastasia Parmson: www.anastasiaparmson.art https://www.instagram.com/anastasiaparmson.art/