One of my favorite minimalist artists is Anne Truitt. She was considered a leader in the minimalist school of art. I was fortunate to have her as one of my professors at UM. I loved her class. Her way of teaching was to give insights along with exercises. She was filled with words of wisdom not just about art but about life.
Trained as a psychologist and with only one year of formal education in art, Truitt made a decision to “ride out the jeopardy of art with as much courage and faith as possible.”
She was largely known for her richly hued columnar sculptures. She explained in her “Daybook”: “It’s as if the outside world has to match some personal horizontal and vertical axis.”
She wrote: “I do not understand why I seem able to make what people call art. For many long years I struggled to learn how to do it, and I don’t even know why I struggled.” At age 61 her work became respected by people whose understanding of art Truitt respected, and thought “if I’m an artist, being an artist isn’t so fancy because it’s just me.” Later she felt this was a simplistic attitude.
She wrote: “There’s a small still center into which conception can arrive. And when it arrives, you make it welcome with your experience.”
Anne Truitt died in 2004 at age 83.