Specific Objects
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In his essay, Specific Objects, Donald Judd asserts that the new three-dimensional work presents a more powerful, unitary form by addressing the inherent limitations of painting. According to Judd, painting requires that subject matter be placed within the bounds of a rectangular plane with color, line, and space used to create the illusion of depth according to European tradition and the constraints of oil and canvas. However, real three-dimensional space eliminates the need for these illusions, thereby allowing artists to create work with a more effective, unified form. As stated by Judd, “In the three-dimensional work the whole thing is made according to complex purposes, and these are not scattered but asserted by one form. It isn’t necessary for a work to have a lot of things to look at, to compare, to analyze one by one, to contemplate. The thing as a whole, its quality as a whole, is what is interesting. The main things are alone and are more intense, clear, and powerful. They are not diluted by an inherited format, variations of a form, mild contrasts and connecting parts and areas. (184-187)” No longer forced to adhere to traditional circumscribed forms, the three-dimensional works combine elements such as color, space, and materials to create new streamlined forms of art with greater power and intensity.