Using the cube as a “grammatical device”, Sol LeWitt’s Open Cube in Color on Color of 2003 distils colour into essential forms characterised by serialisation, repetition and progression. The work comprises thirty iterations of an open cube contained within a distinct square, defined only by its variations of colour. LeWitt was an early proponent of Conceptual and Minimalist art, valuing the idea of conceptual, logical formulation, as opposed to the art-object itself and subjective creation. We find this in Open Cube in Color on Color, as the methodically repeated cubes draw focus to the intensity of the process from which they were produced rather than the creative liberties of the artist. As LeWitt himself put it: “the serial artist does not attempt to produce a beautiful or mysterious object but functions merely as a clerk cataloguing the results of the premise.”
“When an artist uses a conceptual form of art it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand, and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes the art.”
—Sol LeWitt
LeWitt’s descriptive yet simple titles are a hallmark of his work. Deceptively, however, the inherent complexity of LeWitt’s works belie the succinct terminology used to define it. The titles become hypnotically redundant abstractions; their gnomic weight adding to the conceptualisation of basic forms in complex formulations. LeWitt believed that one can never be totally free of subjective judgement; instead his interest lay in the extent to which this judgement – or the role of the artist in the creation of art – can be codified, systematised and articulated. He believed that ideas should be transcribed, not interpreted; he who interprets falls into Expressionism. In this way, LeWitt’s works are a radical departure from what it means to express the creative self, reducing himself from the grand status of artist absorbed by aesthetics to the practitioner executing ideas. Lewitt believed that “even a blind man can be an artist”, as it is the idea that designs the work; the act of creating an artwork is nothing more than a visualisation of the idea. Nevertheless, Open Cube in Color on Color is an extraordinary example of LeWitt’s masterful balance of colour and form. While posing a profound assault on accepted notions of artistic compositions, his work effortlessly succeeds in stimulating not only the eye but also the mind.
