Do-si-do: Dan Christensen.

Abstract

Painting in typical fashion with a brush only was seemingly too limited in its scope for the inventive mind of abstract painter Dan Christensen (19422007). With tools that included spray guns, rollers, and squeegees, he created pictures of festively tinted looping strips resembling ribbons, mysterious wedges of color, and spheres that were all a-shimmer. His painting processes were fascinating in their own right, and in making the bright pictures that epitomize his body of work he may have had more fun than just about anyone else. Christensen was born in Nebraska, in the same region where renowned painter Robert Henri had lived for a time in his younger years during the 19th century. An important point along Christensen’s artistic path occurred when in his teens he encountered work by painter Jackson Pollock, which may have suggested to him the possibility of developing one’s own unique style (Peters L. Dan Christensen: The Stain Paintings, 1976-1988. New York, NY: Spanierman Modern; 2011:3-7). Christensen received a degree from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1964 and shortly thereafter moved to New York. As a measure of his soon-realized success, his work was exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art while he was still in his 20s. It seems likely his early approaches to abstract painting were influenced by that of contemporaries who were color field painters, including his friend, the artist Jules Olitski (Adlmann JE. Dan Christensen (1942-2007): Pure Painting: A Forty-Year Retrospective. Santa Fe, NM: LewAllen Contemporary; 2007:2-4). Indeed, some of Christensen’s own work during his bold experimentations with methods was considered to be color field in character, a style of painting in which sections of uninterrupted color are salient features of the picture. Although his brilliant spray-painted ribbony bands were well enough received, Christensen seemed compelled to find newways toexpresshisdelightwith color, and in several years or so hence he began juxtaposing rectangular blocks of pigment inworks that came tobeknownashis “plaid” series. For this group of his paintings, he used squeegees and paint rollers to apply paint to canvases secured to the floor. This experimentwas followed by another one, resulting inwhatwas termed “slab” paintings. The technique for these works included the layering of different colors that created a sense of depthand intrigue.Theprocessof creating theslabgenrecould include use of trowels or squeegees or involve forceful brushwork (Peters, p 3). Other artistic approaches for Christensen included a lyrical etching of lines and other ciphering on a painted surface. In later developments around the 1990s, his work evolved tohis admired “circle” images. Thepaintings of radiant rounded forms at this stage of his careerwere someof his more sought-after pieces (Adlmann, p 4). An example of the glowing disks that characterized his work during this era isDo-Si-Do, in which a retina-searing seriesofconcentric circles is seen.Thecoreandsurroundingrings each seems to have its own oscillating nimbus of energy. Perhaps in creating this image, Christensenwas recalling a childhood with sweltering summer days dominated by a relentless fireball in the sky.Theviewer’s gazemaypause inaneffort to register the flux of galvanic hues rippling out from the center. As noted, “Do-Si-Do is a work from late in his career, but showshis career longobsessionwithcolor.Thecircular shapes in the painting are less of a focus than the vibrant color. ... ” (http://acm.wichitaartmuseum.org/acm/detail.php?action =v&id=1424724902535936.) An alternate interpretation of the work involves consideration of the “do-si-do” dance maneuver in which participants move around one another. Christensenmayhave intended to convey a dynamic sense of elements rotating around a central entity not unlike that seen in a solar system. Christensen is said to have had a condition thought to be polymyositis. He died in 2007, leaving behind his wife and children. The curiosity that characterized his adventurous tryouts of new color interplay, techniques, and forms resulted in images that in some cases seem to nearly pop from the picture in 3D. More particularly, his enjoyment in working with color as it pleased him seems reflected in the vivid effervescent renderings that become unforgettable images in the mind’s eye of the viewer. Perhaps Christensen’s philosophy of his artistic pursuits is best summarized by his proposition that “ ... painting is for pleasure. It’s like listening to music. That’s all.” (Adlmann, p 3.)