Portland, Ore. -- (March 18, 2010) -- In January 1964, artist Donald Judd began having his work fabricated for him in small factories, something that ignited a storm of controversy. More than 15 years after his death, this controversy still continues. On Sunday, April 25, contemporary art scholars will gather in Portland for a groundbreaking discussion of Judd's art, its fabrication, and how the pieces and artist influenced the American minimalist movement, with continuing ramifications for art and artists today.
The conference, "Donald Judd Delegated Fabrication: History, Practices, Issues and Implications," will feature Robert Storr, dean of the Yale School of Art, Peter Ballantine, Judd's longtime fabricator, and Bruce Guenther, chief curator at the Portland Art Museum. The conference directors Ballantine and Arcy Douglass have been working closely with the University of Oregon in Portland, with the support of Bonnie Serkin and Will Emory to present this event. The exhibition is being organized with the assistance of Jeff Jahn.
The daylong conference will take place from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the University of Oregon in Portland's White Stag Block. The cost is $65, if registered by Monday, March 22, and $85 after. The student rate is $35. The registration includes a boxed lunch.
Judd's influence reached throughout the world, but the artist also had strong ties to the Northwest. In 1974, the Portland Center for Visual Arts (PCVA) built a site-specific plywood work by Judd, using his instructions, though the artist did not visit the space until the opening reception. The sculpture was made from 55 sheets of plywood, for which PCVA could not find funds. A lumberyard loaned the wood, which was returned after the exhibit and sold as "slightly used."
"The Portland piece at the PCVA was an incredible door into a discussion of Judd's fabrication process, something that has been virtually unexplored anywhere in Judd scholarship," said Ballantine, who worked with Judd for more than 25 years and has been a close collaborator to the conference and exhibit.
In addition to the conference, an exhibit of Judd pieces is scheduled for the White Box, the visual laboratory at the White Stag Block. Drawings, correspondence and invoices from Ballantine's private collection will show how Judd's work moved from idea to fabrication.
"The purpose of the conference is to understand how Judd's approach to his work might be relevant to today, but also how it might be applied to a variety of disciplines," said Douglass. "The simple question of how one maintains the integrity of the work, while at the same time taking advantage of skill sets of different people, is a question that is at the heart of many different contemporary practices including designers, architects, historians and film makers, as well as artists."
"The Judd Conference and corresponding White Box exhibit is an example of the types of conversations the University of Oregon's School of Architecture and Allied Arts should be part of," said Kate Wagle, director of the university's AAA program in Portland. "What Judd did and who he influenced are important connections to a current international art conversation for our students."
To register, visit http://www.juddconference.com.
The event is sponsored by the UO in Portland and UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts.
Conference Bios:
Robert Storr was a curator in the department of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, from 1990 to 2002. There he organized exhibitions on Elizabeth Murray, Gerhard Richter, Max Beckmann, Tony Smith and Robert Ryman. He is currently Consulting Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and commissioner of the 2007 Venice Biennale, the first American invited to assume that position. He was appointed professor of painting/printmaking and dean of the Yale School of Art in 2006.
Peter Ballantine first met Judd in February 1968 while a graduate fellow at the Whitney Museum's Independent Studies Program where Judd was a lecturer. From April 1969 until Judd's death in 1994, Ballantine fabricated more than 200 of Judd's works directly and approved a large number by other fabricators on Judd's behalf. From 1994 to 2004, he was the art supervisor of the Donald Judd Estate/Judd Foundation. Since 2004, Ballantine works as an independent Judd restorer, curator, researcher, lecturer and writer. He is currently preparing a Judd drawing show in London.
Bruce Guenther has served as the chief curator and curator of modern and contemporary art at the Portland Art Museum since 2000. He was the curator of contemporary art at the Seattle Art Museum from 1979 to 1987, the chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago from 1987 to 1991 and the Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, from 1991 to 2000. Since 2007, he has served as a peer review panelist for the GSA Art in Architecture Program, Washington D.C.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 62 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.
Contact: Heidi Hiaasen, University of Oregon in Portland, 503-412-3714, heidih@uoregon.edu
Links: Judd Conference website and registration: http://www.juddconference.com; Judd Conference blog: http://juddconference.posterous.com/
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