“Actual space is intrinsically more powerful and specific than paint on a flat surface.”

—Donald Judd ("Specific Objects," 1964. Arts Yearbook 8 [1965], p. 94; reprinted in Thomas Kellein, Donald Judd: Early Works 1955–1968 [exh. cat. New York: D.A.P., 2002])

Donald Judd (1928–1994). Untitled, 1969. Copper, ten units with 9-inch intervals, 9 x 40 x 31 inches (22.9 x 101.6 x 78.7 cm) each; 180 x 40 x 31 inches (457.2 x 101.6 x 78.7 cm) overall. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Panza Collection 91.3713. © Judd Foundation. Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

About the artist

Donald Judd was born in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, in 1928. At Columbia University, New York, he studied philosophy and art history and began to produce his earliest paintings.

In the early 1960s, he switched from painting to sculpture and started to develop an interest in architecture. Though he shunned the term "minimalism" Donald Judd became one of the movement's leading artists as it emerged as a counterforce to Abstract Expressionism. Whereas Abstract Expressionism focused on gestural, intuitive expression, Minimalism dealt solely with materials and space. The work of art became a product of the interaction between the object, the viewer, and the environment.

In his 1965 treatise "Specific Objects," Judd championed recent work that was neither painting nor sculpture. He endorsed "the thing as a whole" rather than a composition of parts. Judd's earliest freestanding sculptures were singular, boxlike forms constructed of wood or metal. As his exploration of three-dimensional space became more complex, he developed a number of strategies to subordinate a work's individual components to the whole, by using rows and progressions of systematically recurring forms. In its repetition of serial forms and spaces, the vertical stack of Untitled (1969) literally incorporates space as one of its materials along with highly polished copper, creating interplay between forms and spaces.

• Brainstorm a list of words that come to mind when you look at this work. When done, compare your list with another student's. Is your word list highly consistent or very different? Discuss your responses.
• Donald Judd began making Minimalist work while Abstract Expressionism still dominated the art world. Show students a work of Abstract Expressionist art, perhaps a painting by Jackson Pollock. Describe how are these works are related. How are they different?
• Placement and repetition are central to Judd's work. Although this work is untitled, it contains very specific information about how it should be installed in the gallery or museum. Think about some alternative ways that these ten units might be situated. What other arrangements might Judd have considered? Do you think he chose the best one? Why? Why not?
• It was very important to Judd that his work be seen as a whole, rather than as individual parts. Do you think he was successful? Explain your response.
• List the qualities that you value in a work of art. Does this work satisfy those criteria? How? How not?

In the early 1960s Donald Judd abandoned painting, stating that "actual space is intrinsically more powerful and specific than paint on a flat surface." What is your reaction to this statement? Do you agree, disagree, or have a mixed reaction?

Judd spent his lifetime exploring various large-scale geometric forms, industrial materials, and recurring arrangements for his work. Choose a geometric form, material, and arrangement for a work that you would like to create. Make a drawing or model for your work and explain the choices you have made.

Judd used many industrial materials that had not previously been considered for making art, including stainless steel, concrete, plywood, brass, copper, Plexiglas, and galvanized iron (often enameled or anodized). Some have even called Judd's use of materials "sumptuous." What material would you consider sumptuous? How would you create a work of art using the material you have chosen?

Even though the limited parameters of Judd's work may at first seem very restrictive, they create many possible outcomes. Complete the table below and then create sketches or models for some of the works that could be created within these stringent specifications. You may want to use graph paper to keep the scale consistent.