Minimalism

The Materials of Minimalism MoMA Minimalism Theme

What are characteristics that Untitled (Stack) shares with painting. What characteristics does it share with sculpture? Consider formal traits such as line, shape, color, materials and dimensionality. Share this information with your students: Although it is hung on a wall like a painting, Untitled (Stack) projects nearly three feet from the wall and climbs like rungs on a ladder from floor to ceiling. It is made of galvanized iron boxes, all identical and of equal importance. The space around the boxes is also important. The sides are covered with commercially available green lacquer paint typically used to customize Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The tops and bottoms are bare metal. Each of the 12 boxes is nine inches high, and they are spaced nine inches apart.    Judd ignored traditional craft skills in favor of an overriding system or idea. He wanted his work to suggest an industrial production line. In fact, Judd had his works made in a factory in order to obtain a perfect finish without having to rework the material. The box was one of Judd’s favorite forms, because he felt it was neutral and had no symbolic meaning. Donald Judd. Untitled (Stack). 1967. Lacquer on galvanized iron, 12 units, each 9 x 40 x 31" (22.8 x 101.6 x 78.7 cm), installed vertically with 9" (22.8 cm) intervals. Helen Acheson Bequest (by exchange) and gift of Joseph Helman   Donald Judd. Untitled (Stack). 1967. MoMA Minimalism Theme

What are the similarities and differences between Judd and Kusama? Share this information with your students: Donald Judd made this work of art from galvanized iron and green paint. It's hung on a wall like a painting, but projects nearly three feet from the wall and the forms are repeated from floor to ceiling. What are the similarities and differences between Kusama's work and Donald Judd's? Are they each like paintings or sculptures or something else altogether? Compare the different roles the artists played in making these two works. Donald Judd. Untitled (Stack). 1967. Lacquer on galvanized iron, 12 units, each 9 x 40 x 31" (22.8 x 101.6 x 78.7 cm), installed vertically with 9" (22.8 cm) intervals. Helen Acheson Bequest (by exchange) and gift of Joseph Helman Yayoi Kusama. Accumulation of Stamps, 63. 1962. Pasted labels and ink on paper, 23 3⁄4 x 29" (60.3 x 73.6 cm). Gift of Philip Johnson. © 2012 Yayoi Kusama Yayoi Kusama. Accumulation of Stamps, 63. 1962. Donald Judd. Untitled (Stack). 1967. MoMA Minimalism Theme

“One might not think of light as a matter of fact, but I do “One might not think of light as a matter of fact, but I do. And it is…as plain and open and direct an art as you will ever find.” – Dan Flavin Share this information with your students: Dan Flavin said: “One might not think of light as a matter of fact, but I do. And it is…as plain and open and direct an art as you will ever find." Flavin did not consider his works to be sculptures, because they consist not only of the physical object (the fluorescent tube) but also of the space illuminated by the light. When the light emitted touches people or objects or a reflecting plane, such as a wall, floor, or ceiling, it illuminates and colors these as well. Flavin’s work unites color with light and space, bringing color into three dimensions and transforming the surrounding space.   The colors and lengths of the fluorescent tubes Flavin used for this piece were determined by what was commercially available at the time. Fluorescent lights, like all lights, have a finite lifespan. When a museum acquires a work by Flavin, it receives an artist’s certificate indicating specifications for replacement tubes, which it purchases when necessary, to extend the life of the work. Dan Flavin. Monument 1 for V. Tatlin. 1964. Fluorescent lights and metal fixtures, 8' x 23 1/8" x 4 1/2" (243.8 x 58.7 x 10.8 cm). Gift of UBS. © 2012 Estate of Dan Flavin/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Dan Flavin. Monument 1 for V. Tatlin. 1964. MoMA Minimalism Theme

Let’s compare these two artworks. Share this information with your students: This is the first of Flavin's 39 "monuments" to the Russian artist Vladimir Tatlin. The stepped arrangement of white fluorescent tubes evokes Tatlin’s Colossal Monument to the Third International (1920). Tatlin's ambitious but unrealized project to unite art and technology was of particular interest to Flavin, who also worked with art and the technology of his time.   Vladimir Tatlin and Nikolai Punin. Pamiatnik III Internatsionala. 1920. Cover with letterpress illustration on front; one letterpress illustration, page: 11 x 8 5/8" (28 x 21.9 cm). Publisher: Izo NKP, Petersburg. Edition: unknown. Gift of The Judith Rothschild Foundation Dan Flavin. Monument 1 for V. Tatlin. 1964. Fluorescent lights and metal fixtures, 8' x 23 1/8" x 4 1/2" (243.8 x 58.7 x 10.8 cm). Gift of UBS. © 2012 Estate of Dan Flavin/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Vladimir Tatlin and Nikolai Punin. Pamiatnik III Internatsionala. 1920. Dan Flavin. Monument 1 for V. Tatlin. 1964. MoMA Minimalism Theme

Let’s compare Judd and Flavin. Share this information with your students: Consider how Flavin’s use of commercially available material relates to Judd’s work. Are there any parallels regarding the choices these two artists’ made? Donald Judd. Untitled (Stack). 1967. Lacquer on galvanized iron, 12 units, each 9 x 40 x 31" (22.8 x 101.6 x 78.7 cm), installed vertically with 9" (22.8 cm) intervals. Helen Acheson Bequest (by exchange) and gift of Joseph Helman Dan Flavin. Monument 1 for V. Tatlin. 1964. Fluorescent lights and metal fixtures, 8' x 23 1/8" x 4 1/2" (243.8 x 58.7 x 10.8 cm). Gift of UBS. © 2012 Estate of Dan Flavin/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Donald Judd. Untitled (Stack). 1967. Dan Flavin. Monument 1 for V. Tatlin. 1964. MoMA Minimalism Theme

Frank Stella. The Marriage of Reason and Squalor, II. 1959. Share this information with your students: The title of this work is The Marriage of Reason and Squalor, II. Define the words marriage, reason and squalor. Consider how these words relate to the formal qualities of the work. How does the title affect the way you understand the work? Stella used commercial black enamel paint and a house painter’s brush to make The Marriage of Reason and Squalor, II. The thick black bands are the same width as the paintbrush he used. The thin white lines are not painted; they are gaps between the black bands in which the raw canvas is visible. Stella painted the black bands parallel to each other, and to the canvas’s edges, rejecting expressive brushstrokes in favor of an overall structure that recognized the canvas as both a flat surface and a three-dimensional object. About his manner of painting, Stella famously said, “My painting is based on the fact that only what can be seen there is there… What you see is what you see.” Instead of painting something recognizable, Stella’s painting is about the act of painting, and its result. Frank Stella. The Marriage of Reason and Squalor, II. 1959. Enamel on canvas, 7' 6 3⁄4" x 11' 3⁄4" (230.5 x 337.2 cm). Larry Aldrich Foundation Fund. © 2012 Frank Stella/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Frank Stella. The Marriage of Reason and Squalor, II. 1959. MoMA Minimalism Theme