Ennyman's Territory: A Light That Still Shines: Honoring Our Friend Dan

Thursday, January 1, 2026

A Light That Still Shines: Honoring Our Friend Dan

Dan Hansen, October 2025

It's that time of year when we turn the page to the year ahead. As is customary, it is also a time for a quick backward look and bid farewell not just to the year left behind but also to the people who departed with it including our friend Dan Hansen, who passed away this past weekend after a hard-fought battle with pneumonia.

Dan was inconceivable in every possible way--as an artist, a thinker, an explorer of infinite spaces beyond imagination. Friends would say they'd never seen a man more inventively driven and motivated.

Today I went over to Dan's apartment and met a couple of Dan's friends whom I'd never met before. They were helping his parents get started on emptying Dan's apartment. It seems we were all like planets circling 'round the same sun, but in different orbits.

To give you an idea of what kind of person Dan was, here are some blog posts I've written about him over the years.

Don't Miss Master MEME Tonight at the PRØVE

https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2012/09/dont-miss-master-meme-tonight-at-prve.html

Five Minutes with Digital Artist Dan Hansen

https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2015/01/five-minutes-with-digital-artist-dan.html

A Visit with Artist Philosopher Dan Hansen

https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-visit-with-artist-philosopher-dan.html

Dan Hansen at Benchmark Tattoo: An Artist Statement

https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2015/04/dan-hansen-at-benchmark-tattoo-artist.html

Our Amazing Universe: The Mandelbrot Set

https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2015/06/our-amazing-universe-mandelbrot-set.html

Intro to Morgan Freeman's Through the Wormhole: My Latest Visit with Dan Hansen