Less Is Less

Suvan Geer’s March 26 review of On Kawara’s paintings praised his obsession with monochromatic canvases, which have on them nothing more than a date for each day of the year, as some form of idealism. To Geer, this repetitive formula “is almost a spiritual detachment. . . . It is simply the fact of his existence that must be considered as giving him value as an artist, not the art objects he produces.” To underscore this philosophical observation, it should be noted that each of these objects, denoting a few days in the artist’s life, sold from $22,000 to $45,000!

C’mon, Suvan Geer, lighten up. D’ya really think that On Kawara was thinking of “Earth Day plus 2” when he painted that epochal April 24, 1990, on that empty canvas? Gee, he’s been doing that every day since 1966 and selling them! Yup, the April 24, 1990, went for $35,000, that’s almost $3,000 per number, including the comma.

It seems to me that April 24 could be seen as April Fool’s Day plus 23. And in the Geerian interpretation of Kawarian ideational minimalism, the selection of one referential point would still further free the work from content, so we can value the artist even more--instead of the mere object he has produced. (Look Mom, I could be a contemporary art critic.)

JULES MARGOLIS

Laguna Hills