--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Donald Judd spoke of a 'neutral' surface…" description: "\"Donald Judd spoke of a 'neutral' surface, but what is meant? Neutrality must involve some relationship (to other ways of painting, thinking?) He would ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/jasper-johns-8447_expression_donald-judd-spoke-of-a-neutral-surface-b_1145469.jpg" --- # Donald Judd spoke of a 'neutral' surface, but what is… ![“Donald Judd spoke of a 'neutral' surface, but what is meant? Neutrality must involve some relationship (to other ways of painting, thinking?) He would have to include these in his work to establish the neutrality of that surface. He also used 'non' or 'not' - expressive - this is an early problem…” quote by Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/jasper-johns-8447_expression_donald-judd-spoke-of-a-neutral-surface-b_1145469.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/jasper-johns-8447_expression_donald-judd-spoke-of-a-neutral-surface-b_1145469.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/jasper-johns-8447_expression_donald-judd-spoke-of-a-neutral-surface-b_1145469.jpg) > “Donald Judd spoke of a 'neutral' surface, but what is meant? Neutrality must involve some relationship (to other ways of painting, thinking?) He would have to include these in his work to establish the neutrality of that surface. He also used 'non' or 'not' - expressive - this is an early problem - a negative solution or - expression of new sense - which can help one into - what one has not known. 'Neutral' expresses an intention.” [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote questions the concept of a neutral surface in art, suggesting it requires relational context and intentionality, and hints at using negation to express new meanings. **In simple terms:** Neutral surface needs context and intention. Key Takeaway Consider how context shapes perceived neutrality. Themes art theory intentionality negation Mood analytical contemplative Type theoretical philosophical When to use this quote - gallery installations - art criticism - studio practice - art education Key Concepts relational aesthetics conceptual art Questions to Reflect On - How does context define neutrality? - Can negation create meaning? A Different Perspective Neutrality may be impossible without reference points. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Expressive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expressive/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known/) [Meant Neutrality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meant-neutrality-3211980/) [Negative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative/) [Neutral Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neutral-surface-3211981/) [Neutrality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neutrality/) [Neutrality Involve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neutrality-involve-3211982/) [Neutrality Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neutrality-surface-3211979/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Solutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solutions/) [Spokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spokes/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [“You can not have empty or neutral mind, as long as you work the mind will contain dreams, if you stop working it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-can-not-have-empty-or-neutral-mind-as-long-as-you-work-the-mind/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Unless your government is respectable, foreigners will invade your rights; and to maintain tranquillity you must be respectable; even to observe neutrality you must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/unless-your-government-is-respectable-foreigners-will-invade-your/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [“I hate neutrality becouse is the worst thing that ever happened”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamzatribah/i-hate-neutrality-becouse-is-the-worst-thing-that-ever-happened/) [Hamzatribah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamzatribah/) > [Charter hired me - which, to be honest, took some humility on its part, since I have helped lead public campaigns against cable companies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-ammori/charter-hired-me-which-to-be-honest-took-some-humility-on-its-part/) [Marvin Ammori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-ammori/) > [The current FCC chairman, Tom Wheeler, is highly regarded, but some distrust him because he is the former head lobbyist of both the cable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-ammori/the-current-fcc-chairman-tom-wheeler-is-highly-regarded-but-some/) [Marvin Ammori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-ammori/) > [Net neutrality isn't a government takeover of the Internet, as many of my Republican colleagues have alleged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/net-neutrality-isn-t-a-government-takeover-of-the-internet-as-many-of/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [Power doesn't corrupt. It's neutral. Someone always wants to corrupt power. It's the way a shotgun is not a deadly weapon until someone chooses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ditko/power-doesn-t-corrupt-it-s-neutral-someone-always-wants-to-corrupt/) [Steve Ditko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ditko/) > [Our impartiality is kept for abstract merit and demerit, which none of us ever saw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/our-impartiality-is-kept-for-abstract-merit-and-demerit-which-none-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [My standpoint is armed neutrality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/my-standpoint-is-armed-neutrality/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [To go back to a 1950s voice mentality with Title II and net neutrality would be a tremendous mistake for our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-t-chambers/to-go-back-to-a-1950s-voice-mentality-with-title-ii-and-net/) [John T. Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-t-chambers/) > [Net neutrality is at the core of what we love about the Internet. Put simply, it allows any individual or business equal access to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ro-khanna/net-neutrality-is-at-the-core-of-what-we-love-about-the-internet-put/) [Ro Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ro-khanna/) > [If you end internet neutrality and permit mergers of the big information technology corporations, that's a form of rent seeking. It's part of today's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/if-you-end-internet-neutrality-and-permit-mergers-of-the-big/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [There's always a fine line that divides hostility from neutrality, and I don't want to pass that line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-dwight/there-s-always-a-fine-line-that-divides-hostility-from-neutrality-and/) [Ed Dwight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-dwight/) > [I believe people ought to be treated fairly under the law. I see no reason why if the marriage contract conveys certain things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-believe-people-ought-to-be-treated-fairly-under-the-law-i-see-no/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [In every encounter we either give life or we drain it; there is no neutral exchange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/in-every-encounter-we-either-give-life-or-we-drain-it-there-is-no/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) ## More by Jasper Johns > [Early on I was very involved with the notion of the painting as an object and tended to attack that idea from different directions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/early-on-i-was-very-involved-with-the-notion-of-the-painting-as-an/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Make something, a kind of object, which as it changes or falls apart (dies as it were) or increases in its parts (grows as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/make-something-a-kind-of-object-which-as-it-changes-or-falls-apart/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [In my early work, I tried to hide my personality, my psychological state, my emotions. This was partly due to my feelings about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/in-my-early-work-i-tried-to-hide-my-personality-my-psychological/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I have no ideas about what the paintings imply about the world. I don't think that's a painter's business. He just paints paintings without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-have-no-ideas-about-what-the-paintings-imply-about-the-world-i-don/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I have meant what I have done. Or I have often meant what I have done. Or I have sometimes meant what I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-have-meant-what-i-have-done-or-i-have-often-meant-what-i-have-done/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Art as a fantasy has been one of my earliest experiences. I suppose a lot of my childhood was a fantasy that involved getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/art-as-a-fantasy-has-been-one-of-my-earliest-experiences-i-suppose-a/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I was raised in South Carolina; I wasn't aware of any art in South Carolina. There was a minor museum in Charleston, which had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-was-raised-in-south-carolina-i-wasn-t-aware-of-any-art-in-south/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Sometime during the mid-50s I said, 'I am an artist.' Before that, for many years, I had said, 'I'm going to be an artist.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/sometime-during-the-mid-50s-i-said-i-am-an-artist-before-that-for/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [That's what painting does; it organizes vision in a certain way or suggests that certain things be paid attention to and certain other things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/that-s-what-painting-does-it-organizes-vision-in-a-certain-way-or/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I assumed that everything would lead to complete failure, but I decided that didn't matter – that would be my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-assumed-that-everything-would-lead-to-complete-failure-but-i/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I tend to like things that already exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-tend-to-like-things-that-already-exist/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Bend color names which should be made of neon or copper tubing. Place an object on a surface - trace the object - then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/bend-color-names-which-should-be-made-of-neon-or-copper-tubing-place/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [My experience with life is that it's very fragmented. In one place certain kinds of thing occur, and in another place a different kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/my-experience-with-life-is-that-it-s-very-fragmented-in-one-place/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I never wish for critics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-never-wish-for-critics/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Art is either a complaint or appeasement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/art-is-either-a-complaint-or-appeasement/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) [Explore all 80 Jasper Johns quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Donald Judd spoke of a 'neutral' surface, but what is meant? Neutrality must involve some relationship (to other ways of painting, thinking?) He would have to include these in his work to establish the neutrality of that surface. He also used 'non' or 'not' - expressive - this is an early problem - a negative solution or - expression of new sense - which can help one into - what one has not known. 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