Dia Bridgehampton
The museum building was originally built in 1909 as a firehouse, and then used as a church from 1924 to 1979. This history is part of the reason Dan Flavin chose the building to house his work, and is referenced in some exhibits.
In early 2020, Dia stopped calling the museum the "Dan Flavin Art Institute" and began calling it "Dia Bridgehampton". The Flavin works within the museum are now considered the "Dan Flavin Art Institute" while the rotating gallery makes up the rest of "Dia Bridgehampton". This museum is one of the twelve locations and sites the Dia Art Foundation manages.
History
Dia
![front façade of Dia Bridgehampton](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Dia_Bridgehampton_03.jpg/220px-Dia_Bridgehampton_03.jpg)
In 1974, the Dia Art Foundation was established by Heiner Friedrich, Schlumberger heiress Philippa de Menil, and Helen Winkler to help artists realize ambitious projects whose scale and scope is not feasible within the normal museum and gallery systems. In 1979 the Dia Art Foundation purchased the building, which had previously been a firehouse and a church, to house a long-term exhibition of Dan Flavin's work as well as a rotating exhibition space. Flavin was a resident of Wainscot at the time, but had previously lived in Bridgehampton for several years. He was drawn to the building for its accessible location and open floor space.
Construction
While some repairs were made to the roof after purchasing, renovations began in earnest in September 1982 with the architect Richard Gluckman designing the museum, under Flavin's direction. Gluckman had connections to both Flavin and Dia, having previously worked with Flavin on a 1977 installation for the Dia founders. Gluckman's first commission to create a full-scale art gallery was for the Dia Center for the Arts on West 22nd Street, now Dia Chelsea.
The renovation of the former firehouse and church included repairs to the exterior, new landscaping, and extensive remodeling of the interior. Interior work included the addition of a fire sprinkler system and a large scale rewiring of the building to accommodate the power draws associated with Flavin's fluorescent light sculptures. Ultraviolet-filtered glass windows were installed with grey mylar shades to help control the lighting inside. The newel post was painted fire-engine-red, a reference to the building's use as a fire station, and a small gallery on the second floor was created to hold memorabilia from the renovation process including the church doors and a neon cross. On the exterior gutters and electrical cables were removed while doors, paneling, and shingles were restored. A blue light was installed under the lower cornice. When talking about the design of the first floor exterior of the building Flavin stated, "We've tried to put the firehouse façade back on it," referencing a new set of double doors which duplicate the look of the original firehouse doors that allowed the engines in and out.
Opening
The museum opened on June 18, 1983 as the Dan Flavin Art Institute and was named after James Schaeufele, the site supervisor of the renovation project. In its original configuration, the museum was created to house a permanent display of Flavin's work in the building's vestibule and second floor, an artist's archive, a printmaking workshop area, and a rotating exhibition space. An adjacent residential property was repurposed to hold the administrative center of the institution.
An exhibit of fire department memorabilia, much like the display of church objects already installed, was planned to be assembled and installed in the bell tower after the opening of the museum. An apartment on the second floor was also planned for visiting printmakers and an intaglio press was planned to be installed in the former kitchen space. Without any physical changes to the structure occurring, Dia switched from calling the museum the "Dan Flavin Art Institute" to calling it "Dia Bridgehampton" between a November 21, 2019 and a January 29, 2020 press release. Now, the "Dan Flavin Art Institute" is considered to only be the Flavin works inside Dia Bridgehampton, with the rotating gallery making up the rest of "Dia Bridgehampton". One exhibit per year is displayed in this rotating gallery, with a focus on artists living or working on Long Island.
Dan Flavin Art Institute
![a simple red newel post at the base of blond wood and white stairs](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Dia_Bridgehampton_09.jpg/220px-Dia_Bridgehampton_09.jpg)
The Dan Flavin Art Institute is a permanent display of Dan Flavin's work within Dia Bridgehampton. This display consists of nine works in fluorescent light and one drawing. The institute opened with the building in 1983 and is a mini-retrospective touching on each of the major type of work he created with the medium. Dia expresses that the lights and the architecture should be viewed as a "single, continuous installation," and that "Flavin provided an experience built of provocative contrasts—between colors, intensities of light, structure and formlessness, the obvious and the curious, the serious and the humorous."
The following table lists the works on permanent display.
Title | Date | Material | Edition | Owner |
---|---|---|---|---|
red out of a corner (to Annina) | 1963 | Fluorescent light and metal fixtures | 2/3 | The Estate of Dan Flavin |
untitled | 1976 | Fluorescent light and metal fixtures | 2/3 | Dia Art Foundation |
untitled (to Robert, Joe, and Michael) | 1975-81 | Fluorescent light and metal fixtures | 2/3 | Dia Art Foundation |
untitled (to Jan and Ron Greenberg) | 1972-73 | Fluorescent light and metal fixtures | 2/3 | Dia Art Foundation |
untitled (in honor of Harold Joachim) 3 | 1977 | Fluorescent light and metal fixtures | 1/3 | Dia Art Foundation |
untitled (to Katharina and Christoph), (from the European Couples series) |
1966-71 | Fluorescent light and metal fixtures | 1/5 | Dia Art Foundation |
untitled (to Jim Schaeufele) 1 | 1972 | Fluorescent light and metal fixtures | 1/3 | Dia Art Foundation |
untitled (to Jim Schaeufele) 2 | 1972 | Fluorescent light and metal fixtures | 1/3 | Dia Art Foundation |
untitled (to Jim Schaeufele) 3 | 1972 | Fluorescent light and metal fixtures | 1/3 | Dia Art Foundation |
untitled drawing for icon IV (the pure land) (to David John Flavin [1933–1962]) |
1962 | Pencil and chalk on paper | — | Collection of Stephen Flavin |
The building
![black and white image of the Bridgehampton Hook and Ladder Company building](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Bridgehampton_Hook_and_Ladder_Company.jpg)
Bridgehampton, New York, organized a volunteer firefighting service in 1895. The newly formed Bridgehampton Hook and Ladder Company had its first meeting on May 15, 1895, with 15 members attending. Early meetings were held in Atlantic Hall on Ocean Avenue. The company purchased its first engine in 1899 and stored it in the barn belonging to the company foreman, Ed Roger. The engine was subsequently moved to the Academy on Ocean Road and, in 1900, to a building on the property of J. A. Sanford, one of the company's trustees. In 1905 a building lot on Corwith Avenue, then known as Kansas Avenue, was purchased for $270 (equivalent to $9,156 in 2023) intending to build a headquarters for the company. The building was completed and dedicated in 1909 at a cost of $1593 (equivalent to $54,020 in 2023). The two-story, plus attic, building held fire fighting equipment on the first floor and a meeting room, or "Fireman's Hall" on the second. An old bell was purchased from the academy for $5 and installed in the building's bell tower.
In 1921, Bridgehampton considered building a new Community House which would include a new firehouse. A motion was approved that stated if quarters were made for the fire department they would move in to the new building and sell the firehouse on Corwith Avenue, with the proceeds going towards the construction of the Community House. The Community House was completed in 1923 and the Fire Company moved to the new quarters there. The Bridgehampton Hook and Ladder Company was dissolved on May 28, 1923, and a new fire district was approved by the Town Board of Supervisors. The new firefighting organization was named the Bridgehampton Fire Department.
In 1924 the First Baptist Church of Bridgehampton, under the leadership of H.D. Strotter, purchased the turreted, shingle-style building and began using it as a church. In February 1947 a vote was taken by the congregation about whether to build a new church. The vote passed, but the reverend decided to renovate the building instead. This 1947 renovation included a new cornerstone laid by the Prince Hall Freemasonry, also known as the African American Freemasonry. The main entrance was moved to the side of the building and the façade was extended. An annex was also constructed for a first-floor garage with an apartment over it. The building remained in use as a church through the mid-1970s. At this point the First Baptist Church congregation grew too large and a new church was erected nearby.