Untitled, 1977

Untitled, 1977, Donald Judd, 8’x8’x16’, mill aluminum

(NKU) campus, Donald Judd decided to create “Untitled,” 1977, as a comment on “the plainness and angularity of campus architecture.” The piece, which now sits at the center of NKU’s plaza, was commissioned by the university with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Kentucky Legislature. “Untitled,” 1977, became the first of many that Judd made using the material of mill aluminum. After finding inspiration from this piece on the NKU campus, he went on to create an installation series titled, “100 untitled works in mill aluminum,” which consists of 100 41” x 51” x 72” identical boxes organized in two massive warehouses located in Marfa, Texas. Judd became attracted to the industrial fabrication process required to produce mill aluminum. He found it intriguing that despite the complete removal of the artist’s hand in creating the work, each mill aluminum piece came out a bit differently. “100 untitled works in mill aluminum” is a major work in the post-modern period and is known as one of Judd’s most influential pieces. Visit “Untitled,” 1977, on the Northern Kentucky University campus to see a defining work by Donald Judd.