I had no idea that Alexis Dahan was an installation artist, when first we met, last year; over glasses of Dom Pérignon Rose, at the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Actually, he was introduced to me in his roll of in-house photo-journalist for the storied Champagne house. It was only a couple weeks ago, that I learned Dahan (a Parisian who’s resided in New York since earning his dual degrees from NYU) produced art in many forms. 

His recent installation, at the Art Production Fund-curated P3Studio, at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, had nothing whatsoever to do with photography. There, he was producing customized drawings on stark white paper, with charcoal and a steel-rule. But the truly fantastic thing was the means by which he was “told” what to draw – a device not unfamiliar to us Las Vegans, a six-sided die (used in conjunction with a process dubbed the “Lewitt Machine” as a nod to artist Sol Lewitt, whose work the resulting pieces resembled). 

Here’s the way it worked. The “subject” would roll the die. That would determine the number of points placed on the page. Then starting with the first point, the next roll would decide how many lines would be drawn from that point, with the following rolls telling Alexis which points on the page to connect with the original point, using the charcoal. 

The resulting images are very bold, faceted, almost like three-dimensional renderings of oddly-cut gemstones. Others resembled the blue-prints for large abstract sculptures. 

Oh! The big twist! Once the drawing is complete, the subject rolls the die one final time, and calls “Odd” or “Even” – and if called correctly, got to keep the drawing. If not, Alexis kept it. When I was there, he’d won 55 and the subjects had won 67 (68 after I left…). 

So, what did I do with my Alexis Dahan original? It’s now framed, on a wall, at my Mom’s house, in Austin, Texas (but don’t worry – that wall’s in my room). 

Alexis Dahan | If the Game is the Art, is Chance the Artist?
Produced by Art Production Fund for P3Studio
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

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The world’s greatest hip-hop collective returns this weekend with the second edition of the history-making WU-TANG CLAN: THE SAGA CONTINUES… THE LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY