Minimalism in visual arts began in 1963 when a number of New York based artists began to independently exhibit three-dimensional work that shocked the art goers and critics of their time.
Donald Judd, born in 1928 and died in 1994 was one of the prominent minimalist artists of his time period. In his work, Judd sought autonomy and clarity for the constructed object and the space created by it, ultimately achieving a rigorously democratic presentation without compositional hierarchy. It created an outpouring of seemingly effervescent works that defied the term “minimalism”.
One of our recent visits to the Tate Modern allowed us to see one of his great works, named Untitled, created in 1980, the piece features 10 rectangular box type shapes, stacked on top of each other hanging from a wall. The boxes are set apart several inches apart. The outside is silver metal and the inside of the rectangles are navy blue. The stacks need to follow strict principles: the gap between each of the rectangles, and the gap between the first unit and the floor, they should be equal to the height of a single unit. Since the units are all identical, their significance derives from this pre-determined geometric order rather than from any individual features. However, Judd’s attention to the sensuous qualities of his materials prevents Untitled from being cold or clinical.
Minimalism cherished mathematics and preserved its importance in their artworks. Without geometric and arithmetic sequences, the art loses its clarity and meaning and therefore becomes ineffective.
At first, looking at minimalist artworks, the viewer may tend to question what the meaning is but it is subjective and each artwork may mean something different to each viewer as well as the artist. Minimalist works have often been considered cold and clinical due to their simplicity and use of modern and substance materials.
Donald Judd has also commonly used box type shapes in many of his works. Most of which are untitled. His stacked work has also been seen in several drawings in which he represents the geometric aspect of the work on paper.
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