Sol Lewitt read more

Sol Lewitt is most often celebrated for his innovation and merging of the minimalist and conceptual art movements, but it is the relationship between his wall drawings and architecture that is the focus of my research. In 1955, Sol Lewitt worked for the renowned architect I.M. Pei as a graphic designer. His experience in the architecture firm influenced not only his work, but also his process of creating art. Lewitt’s wall drawings are related to architecture in process and also in product.

In Lewitt’s words, “an architect doesn’t go off with a shovel and dig his foundation and lay every brick. He’s still an artist”, so why should Lewitt’s work be treated any different than blue prints utilized by architects. While it is not unusual for an artist to employ assistants to produce their work, Lewitt takes on an even more removed position in the creation of his art. A Sol Lewitt wall drawing begins as a small sketch, and then Lewitt writes directions for completing the piece, the rest is up to the draftsman. Human error and interpretation affect the piece, making sure that no two wall drawings are ever exactly the same. Lewitt believed that “Ideas cannot be owned…they belong to whomever understands them”, and allowed others to reproduce his works as long as they closely followed his instruction. However after the 1980’s, poor copies of his work began to circulate through the art world and he established a system of certificates. For a wall drawing to be considered a Sol Lewitt, it must be completed under the supervision of an assistant and be accompanied by a drawing and instructions certified by Sol Lewitt. The certificate system assured Lewitt that all his pieces would be of the highest quality.

While his drawings are usually described as modern they appeal to classical ideals. The high renaissance architect Andrea Palladio is a clear example of classicism and the traditional role of an architect. He is responsible for some of the more celebrated classical villas in Italy, and his theories helped to mold the career of architecture. Though Lewitt’s work cannot inherently be rooted in classicism, he utilizes classical ideals shared with Palladio. Lewitt’s work often embodies the same symmetry and harmony essential to classical architecture.

Palladio’s Villa rotunda is a clear model of Classical architecture. The central plan, clean lines, symmetry, dome, orders and overall proportionality are classical ideals. Much like the basis of Lewitt’s wall drawings Palladio’s plans relied on simple line and geometric shapes. Lewitt’s believed in a “return to basics” utilizing the most basic form of drawing, the line. His first wall drawings were based on the orientation and relationship of lines, resulting in perfectly proportioned grids and line arrangements. Palladio’s villas were also perfectly proportioned. Palladio’s proportions were determined by a unit of measurement, usually based on the human form, every part of his architecture is based on the human unit of measurement. Lewitt’s initial pieces were perfectly proportioned, based on a unit of measurement defined by his lines.

Palladio’s Villa Rotunda is realized as a whole. In keeping with classical architecture the building has a wholeness and harmony of all its. Every piece of the building fits in relation to the rest. Lewitt’s work is also realized in the whole. Unlike art produced on a canvas encased in a frame, his work defines it’s own boundaries. He is able to create a harmony is his work incorporating the entire wall into one unified piece. His early works are symmetrical with grids and repetitive elements, but as his drawings progressed and new colors and shapes were added they became asymmetrical, but still harmonious.

Lewitt also shares artistic theories with Palladio. In the 16^th century, architecture was dominated by genius, Palladio aimed to move it to be a career. Using the classical proportions of the human form, Palladio wrote four books of architecture. He illustrated the ways in which architects should produce Classical buildings. His idea was to create an easily reproducible architecture. Lewitt’s art also attempted to move towards independent reproducibility and the value of an idea.

As one of the theorizers of the conceptual art movement he believed that ideas were more important that objects. Lewitt was not opposed to his works being reproduced with small differences, in the same way that Palladio endorsed the reproduction of his classical designs. Palladio expected architects to take his illustrations and construct classical buildings to promote classicism. He didn’t actually go and build his designs, but offered a reproducible idea. Lewitt also didn’t construct his pieces of art, he believe that art should be treated in the same way as architecture, as a set of instruction for a builder to construct.

Sol Lewitt believed that art should be treated in the same manner as architecture. He believes that the concept or idea was the most important aspect of art. Though he might never associate himself with classical architecture, his work still employs a classical idealism. Through Palladio’s vision’s of reproducibility we can see that Lewitt’s work is linked to architectural ideals.