Containing numerous sets of fabrication instructions for varied materials, this drawing relates to and further develops the iconic forms Slab (platform) and Slab (cloud) originally made of plywood in 1962 and presented in landmark shows at the Green Gallery in 1963 and 1964. Set on the floor or in relation to the gallery’s walls, these polyhedrons defined the gallery’s architecture as sculpture rarely had before, directing a viewer’s focus to the space of the gallery itself. With this body of work, Morris introduced a Minimal art that was fundamentally sculptural and intended to draw attention to the contingencies of space and site. These two “slab” forms were later fabricated in metal in 1973, duplicating in permanent materials the original plywood pieces.
Although the two works were not initially exhibited as a pair, the artist stated, “I nevertheless see them existing together in combination. I am not as insistent on this as I am with the case of the Three L-forms of 1965 in which a single ‘L’-shaped form is permuted in terms of its position with respect to the ground. Still, the two slabs are also permuted with respect to floor/space. On the other hand, I first showed the floor slab independently. But it was at a certain point in time (exactly when I cannot remember) that the two works became a pair and I have wanted them shown that way ever since.” Morris also considered making a series of slabs. As he noted, “the 1973 versions may be slightly different from the first ones, not only in material (first ones were plywood) but dimensions. I think there was a few inches difference in thickness. There could have been a very long series of these slabs (maybe not as many as Brancusi’s Birds), each with a slightly different dimension, distance from the floor, shade of grey, etc. In fact I made several versions of each slab in plywood for various shows – it was easier to make these on the spot than ship them. But these have all been destroyed. The ones the Australian National Gallery has are the only ones that now exist so far as I know: manifestations of a long but unrealized series.”
