Untitled by Donald Judd, in the Tate Liverpool MuseumDonald Judd, Untitled (1967), collection of Indianapolis Museum
Donald Judd's progression sculptures are a series of wall sculptures created between 1964[1] and the 1970s.[2] Each work is similar in form, with Judd's choice of material varying depending on the date of production.[3]Judd based each work on a simple mathematical sequence such as the Fibonacci Sequence.[4][5][6] He typically called the worksUntitled, sometimes adding the wordprogression to the title.[7][8] Judd, along with fellow artists,Dan Flavin andMel Bochner, was interested in the minimalist notion ofseriality or serial progression rather than the more classical relational method of composition.[9]
Untitled (Progression) is a 1965 work made of painted and galvanized aluminum, held by theSaint Louis Art Museum.[10]
Untitled, made in 1965, is a maroon and silver aluminum sculpture held by theWhitney Museum of Art. The original version of the work was painted with a Harley-Davidson motorcycle paint whose color was called "Hi-Fi Purple". The work was restored in 1976 and 2005.[11]
Untitled, held by theIndianapolis Museum of Art, was created in 1967. It consists of abrass bar over a series of fivesteel boxes in Judd's signaturecadmium red.[12] The long brass bar is both hollow and open at both ends. The red boxes increase geometrically in size from right to left, with the fifth box being sixteen times the length of the first. Conversely, the voids between the boxes decrease geometrically, the leftmost space being one quarter the size of the rightmost. The actual fabrication was performed by the Bernstein Brothers firm.[13][4]
Untitled, made in 1969, was fabricated from extruded aluminum and polished aluminum. A mathematical sequence of 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 is represented in a series of polished aluminum blocks. The work is held by theVan Abbe Museum, Eindhoven.[14]
Untitled (Progression), made in 1970, sets five blocks of blue-purple anodized aluminum against a long clear anodized square rod. It is held in the collection of theNelson-Atkins Museum of Art.[8]
Untitled, made in 1973, is a copper wall sculpture that added 1.5 inches to the width of each protrusion from left to right. It is held by theTate Museum, London.[15]
Untitled, made in 1976 from clear anodized and chartreuse anodized aluminum,is held by thePeggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy. In it, the width of the chartreuse blocks present a reverse Fibonacci sequence when viewed from left to right.[16]
Untitled, made in 1976 and held by theNasher Sculpture Center is a clear and green anodized aluminum version of the progression sculptures.[7]
Untitled, produced in 1978, is held by theNational Gallery of Canada. The work, made of clear anodized and green anodized aluminum, follows a dual Fibonacci sequence.[17]
^Godfrey, Mark (2003). "Moralia Minima, review of Minimalism: Art and Polemics in the Sixties by James Meyer".Oxford Art Journal.26 (1): 169.JSTOR3600454.
^Lee, Ellen Wardwell; Robinson, Anne (2005).Indianapolis Museum of Art: Highlights of the Collection. Indianapolis: Indianapolis Museum of Art.ISBN0936260777.
