Minimalism geeks, your month is about to get super busy. The
Judd Foundation, an organization that handles the hefty estate of Marfa, Tex.-via-New-York
artist Donald Judd, has just launched a website with a digitized version of the
minimalism godfather’s 13,004 book library for free public consumption. The
archive spans over 40 years of diverse collecting and includes a nearly endless
series of texts on art, science, philosophy and cultural theory referenced by
Judd throughout his storied and influential career. “We are extremely excited to unveil this new tool,” Judd
Foundation executive director Barbara Hunt McLanahan said in a press statement.
“One of the Foundation’s primary goals is to maintain and preserve the
properties Judd owned in Marfa and New York and to facilitate public access to
them. We saw this project as critical because it makes available to a much
broader audience an extraordinary resource. Many students, scholars and
followers of Judd’s work might not have the opportunity to visit the physical
library in Marfa, but they can now see it from anywhere in world, exactly as if
they were standing in front of the shelves.” She ain’t lying. Go to the site and you’ll find a full
geographical layout of the library. You can wander through the halls by
clicking on a layout map that connects to actual photographs of Judd’s
bookshelves or choose your poison by subject, author or title. While the Judd
library doesn’t lend, they’re happy to get you the reference and location
information to find a local library that has the text you desire. Props to Ryan Tainter, the project’s digital designer and
head librarian, for the tip.