Expressionism by burnishing the metal with steel wool, producing
swirling random-looking patterns that draw attention to the two-
dimensionality of the sculptural surface. This treatment, which cap-
tures the light hitting the sculpture, activates the surface and imparts
a texture to his pieces. Meant to be seen outdoors (see “David Smith
on Outdoor Sculpture,” page 978), Smith’s sculptures unfortunately
lose much of their character in the sterile lighting of a museum.
TONY SMITH A predominantly sculptural movement that
emerged in the 1960s among artists seeking Greenbergian purity of
form was Minimalism.One leading Minimalist was Tony Smith
(1912–1980), who created simple volumetric sculptures such as Die
(FIG. 36-15). Difficult to describe other than as three-dimensional
objects, Minimalist artworks often lack identifiable subjects, colors,
surface textures, and narrative elements. By rejecting illusionism and
reducing sculpture to basic geometric forms, Minimalists emphati-
cally stress their art’s “objecthood” and concrete tangibility. In so do-
ing, they reduce experience to its most fundamental level, preventing
viewers from drawing on assumptions or preconceptions when deal-
ing with the art before them.
DONALD JUDDAnother Minimalist sculptor,Donald Judd
(1928–1994), embraced a spare, universal aesthetic corresponding to
the core tenets of the movement. Judd’s determination to arrive at a
visual vocabulary that avoided deception or ambiguity propelled him
away from representation and toward precise and simple sculpture.
For Judd, a work’s power derived from its character as a whole and
from the specificity of its materials (see “Donald Judd on Sculpture
and Industrial Materials,” above).Untitled (FIG. 36-16) presents ba-
sic geometric boxes constructed of brass and red Plexiglas, undis-
guised by paint or other materials. The artist did not intend the work
to be metaphorical or symbolic but a straightforward declaration of
sculpture’s objecthood. Judd used Plexiglas because its translucency
permits the viewer to access the interior, thereby rendering the sculp-
ture both open and enclosed. This aspect of the design reflects Judd’s
desire to banish ambiguity or falseness from his works.
Interestingly, despite the ostensible connections between Mini-
malism and Greenbergian formalism, Greenberg did not embrace
this direction in art. In his view,Minimal Art remains too much a feat of ideation [the mental for-
mation of ideas], and not enough anything else. Its idea remains an
idea, something deduced instead of felt and discovered. The geomet-
rical and modular simplicity may announce and signify the artisti-
cally furthest-out, but the fact that the signals are understood forPainting and Sculpture, 1945 to 1970 979I
n a 1965 essay entitled “Specific Objects,” the Minimalist sculptor
Donald Judd described the advantages of sculpture over painting
and the attractions of using industrial materials for his works
(FIG. 36-16).
Three dimensions are real space. That gets rid of the problem of
illusionism ...one ofthe salient and most objectionable relics of
European art. The several limits of painting are no longer present.
A work can be as powerful as it can be thought to be. Actual space
is intrinsically more powerful and specific than paint on a flat sur-
face....The use of three dimensions makes it possible to see all
sorts of materials and colors. Most of [my] work involves new mate-
rials, either recent inventions or things not used before in art. Little
was done until lately with the wide range of industrial products....
Materials vary greatly and are simply materials—formica, alumi-
num, cold-rolled steel, plexiglas, red and common brass, and so
forth. They are specific. If they are used directly, they are more spe-
cific. Also, they are usually aggressive. There is an objectivity to the
obdurate identity ofa material....The form ofa work ofart and its
materials are closely related. In earlier work the structure and the
imagery were executed in some neutral and homogeneous material.*- Donald Judd,Complete Writings 1959–1975(New York: New York University
Press, 1975), 181–189.
Donald Judd on Sculpture
and Industrial MaterialsARTISTS ON ART36-16Donald Judd,Untitled,1969. Brass and colored fluorescent
Plexiglas on steel brackets, 10 units, 6 81 – 2 2 3 each, with 6
intervals. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, D.C. (gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1972).
Art © Judd Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York.
Judd’s Minimalist sculpture incorporates boxes fashioned from
undisguised industrial materials. The artist used Plexiglas because
its translucency gives the viewer access to the work’s interior.
1 ft.