Donald Judd's Kitchen

I always love snooping around people's kitchens and trying to figure out what they are like. You know, do some basic kitchen psychology 101 and make sweeping generalizations about their character based on their cans of baby corn or what their ratio of veg to vodka is in the crisper. People think I'm a bit forward when I gumshoe their fridge, so I sneak looks in when the host is setting food out on the table.

Yesterday, I was able to walk around the late Donald Judd's Soho kitchen on a tour. Of course, there were no groceries in there to look at (and the fridge had been removed), but the design was such an interesting glimpse into how far he took his aesthetic. The man was the original minimalist loft-living downtowner. Industrial kitchen sink from the Bowery. An appliance or two from Canal St.  Simple wood table for the counters. Utensils, plates and cups arranged perfectly. He chopped off the tops of the dining rooms chairs so that they would be on the same plane as the table. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures. 

Of course, the reality of his living quarters was a little more cluttered than what we see now. There is a photo of a messy bedspread if you scroll down here. But it's quite amazing how austere the space is. Or maybe you can see it as him creating space for people to occupy. Just picture all these '60s artists, lying about drinking Port, talking about abstract expressionism. 

Whatever the case, he certainly did not skimp on food. The guide told us that he had European tastes. There are giant meat hooks that he had hanging from his rafters, in the stairwell. Besides the butchers of Little Italy, the Judds' also shopped at Dean and Deluca, the local grocery store in then no man's land Soho. But wait, I also spotted wooden sake cups, a mocaljate and chopsticks lying flat side by side. So he likes ethnic food, probably.  We do know that he was a member of a performance art dinner club.  Analysis: complicated, adventurous, generous, intense, alternately convivial and sober. Ultimately, a fine eater.

Comments

[pooja]

how did u manage to take a picture of his kitchen..but anyways isn't his apt awesome.

[Michelle]

Hi Pooja, That wasn't his kitchen. I shoulda put a caption. It was a photo I took of someone else's fridge. Anways, I've been meaning to put another photo in. xo M