Donald Judd passed away in 1994 a short time before i became aware of his art and its impact on Contemporary art practice. His thinking was singular and iconoclastic about what art is, what it should do and how it should be presented. Donald gradually developed the idea that objects should be created and placed in a set context and not moved around. He wrote an essay titled "Specific Objects" which explains why artworks need to retain integrity to their materiality and context.
Donald grew tired of art world politics in New York and created the Chinati Foundation in order to establish his own art installations on an abandoned military base outside Marfa a small town in Texas. He also continued to maintain a building in New York filled with his art. He sought independence and autonomy to make the art and install it his way. He invited artist friends such as Dan Flavin, John Chamberlain, Roni Horn and Carl Andre among others to also make art for his new and expanding facility in the countryside. Donald's work has been exhibited around the world and its impact on this generation has been profound.
The impeccable symmetry and presence of his installations have had an enormous impact on what i do. Although my work is flat and utilises a 2D plane and is primarily concerned with a pictorial/object dialogue nevertheless the sense of what Donald was doing with composition, colour and form addresses my paintings.
There is no doubt that now, because of Donald's thinking and practice, curators and museum staff in the years since his passing, more carefully consider how artwork is shown and how the site space occupied by the work is allowed to contextualise and reveal the work over time.
I hope you'll take the time to learn more about Donald Judd and his "specific" vision for art. Here is the link to a PDF of Donald's essay "Specific Objects". http://www.juddfoundation.org/_literature_108163/Specific_Objects.
Donald grew tired of art world politics in New York and created the Chinati Foundation in order to establish his own art installations on an abandoned military base outside Marfa a small town in Texas. He also continued to maintain a building in New York filled with his art. He sought independence and autonomy to make the art and install it his way. He invited artist friends such as Dan Flavin, John Chamberlain, Roni Horn and Carl Andre among others to also make art for his new and expanding facility in the countryside. Donald's work has been exhibited around the world and its impact on this generation has been profound.
The impeccable symmetry and presence of his installations have had an enormous impact on what i do. Although my work is flat and utilises a 2D plane and is primarily concerned with a pictorial/object dialogue nevertheless the sense of what Donald was doing with composition, colour and form addresses my paintings.
There is no doubt that now, because of Donald's thinking and practice, curators and museum staff in the years since his passing, more carefully consider how artwork is shown and how the site space occupied by the work is allowed to contextualise and reveal the work over time.
I hope you'll take the time to learn more about Donald Judd and his "specific" vision for art. Here is the link to a PDF of Donald's essay "Specific Objects". http://www.juddfoundation.org/_literature_108163/Specific_Objects.
