Untitled 1978

Editor: This is Donald Judd’s "Untitled," from the Harvard Art Museums. It’s a simple line drawing of what looks like a box. It feels very stark. How do you interpret this work? Curator: I see Judd using geometric abstraction to question the very nature of art objects within capitalist structures. How does its lack of ornamentation challenge traditional notions of artistic skill and value, particularly in relation to labor? Editor: I hadn't thought about it like that. It makes me wonder, what is Judd trying to say about mass production? Curator: Exactly! Consider how Minimalism, with its industrial materials, disrupts the art market’s emphasis on unique, handcrafted pieces. What does that signify for you? Editor: It’s like he is stripping everything down to the bare essentials. Curator: It's a radical gesture, isn’t it? Now how does it intersect with post-war socio-political realities? Editor: It feels like a rejection of established norms. I never would have seen that in this simple drawing! Curator: That's the power of art, isn't it? It makes us question everything.