Today it’s considered a masterwork of American minimalism, but when Donald Judd’s triangular sculpture Untitled 1974-75 was unveiled it was not without controversy.
The long and bloody war in Vietnam was finally drawing to a close, and here in Australia anti-American sentiment was running high.
Judd’s sculpture commission caused a public outcry in Adelaide, with local academics joining with students, political groups and the media to denounce it as "American imperialism" through protests and debate.
However, while the piece has a colourful past it’s likely many of us have walked right by the large sculpture without giving it a second thought.
That’s something the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) hopes to change when it premieres a newly commissioned documentary and a curated display of Judd’s original project drawings and archival material from Friday 2 May.
The 7.6m-long concrete structure came to be in AGSA's northern courtyard through a timely combination of chance and quick thinking.
The American artist initially proposed to make a site-specific work in Sydney while visiting Australia in 1974 for the exhibition Some Recent American Art, on tour from New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
However, when a suitable site could not be found, AGSA’s then-director John Baily seized the opportunity and offered the gallery's courtyard as an alternative.
This nimble thinking birthed the only site-specific Donald Judd (1928-1994) piece in the Southern Hemisphere.
Originally believing the site to be flat, Judd began to conceive ideas for the AGSA work – only to dispense with them when he reached Adelaide and discovered a gentle slope.
While in the city in May of 1974, he made new drawings and pegged out the ground.
His envisaged shape became triangular, and its slanting topmost surfaces reflected the unexpected lie of the land.
Working with engineer and Gallery Board trustee Philip Fargher alongside local construction company Marshall & Brougham, the sculpture emerged as an expression of sharp geometric angles met with horizontal lines - features now synonymous with Judd’s expansive career.
AGSA's Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs Maria Zagala says: “Donald Judd’s Untitled is a treasure hidden in plain sight, with many of our visitors not realising that the piece has such a rich history.
"This sculpture is one of only a handful of site-specific outdoor installations ever created by the artist, making it an incredibly important work for South Australia and within Judd’s international oeuvre."
Judd’s son and Director of Judd Foundation, Flavin Judd, says: "Permanent pieces like Untitled at the Art Gallery of South Australia gave Don a chance to expand and experiment.
"One of the great things about a permanent work is that Don could explore materiality and deal with something like concrete, which you wouldn’t necessarily do with something smaller that would live on a wall.
"Some artists are radical but not visually interesting, and some are aesthetically interesting but not radical.
"It's rare for those two qualities to come together, and it's even more rare for an artist to work across art, architecture and design. I think that's what makes Don so unique as an artist."
The anniversary of Untitled will be celebrated at AGSA at First Fridays on 2 May. A 20-minute documentary, commissioned by AGSA, will be screened, revealing the complex creation of the work and the historical context in which it was created.
A recorded presentation from Christine Mehring, Professor of Art History, Visual Arts at the University of Chicago, will also be screened, discussing Judd’s architecture, furniture and design practices. AGSA Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs Maria Zagala will additionally host a talk in conversation with Judd experts.
Visit agsa.sa.gov.au (external site) for full details.
