Donald Judd (1928-1994) Google Images

A review of aspects of his work and theory.

The minimal artist used cheap industrial material with which he made sculptures that explored space, and its relation to the work of art and the spectator. Often, one has to move around the work of art, or one sees it climbing up on an architectural structure. He was early in making a point of relative size, volume, and placement of non-representative sculpture.

Judd's "Stacks", of which one is often on display in the Centre Pompidou, is a fine example of the impressive directness of his work, and of his beautiful sense for material, detail and proportion.

When reading Judd's "Complete Writings " (1959-1975), one is struck not merely by the background knowledge and efficiency with which he writes his reviews of art shows, galleries and artists, but also by the wide range of interesting criteria that he consciously applies to the work at hand. Amongst these are the rigour, the composition, the colour, the texture, the stroke, the influences, the originality, the impact, the content, the expression, the maturity, the pleasure, the claims layed, the use of oppositions, the new, and the creative, to name only a few. It is useful when visiting art to have such a list, and even a much longer and more random one at hand. Clearly, Judd has a more hands-on knowledge of art than does Michael Fried.

Copyright 2005, by Jan Troost