Minimalism

Can you figure out the movies behind these minimalist posters?

Minimalism1950’s to 1970’s

Minimalismor Minimal Art is a school of abstract painting and sculpture where any kind of personal expression is kept to a minimum, in order to give the work a completely literal presence. The resulting work is characterized by extreme simplicity of form and a deliberate lack of expressive content .

MinimalismThe central principle is that not the artist’s expression, but the medium and materials of the work are its reality. In other words: a work of art should not refer to anything other than itself.

Minimalism“What you see is what you get.” –Frank Stella, minimalist painter

MinimalismMinimal Art emerged as a trend in the late 1950s and flourished particularly in the 1960s and 1970s.

MinimalismIt is also referred to as ABC art, literal art, literalism, reductivism, and rejective art.

MinimalismIs defined as the concept of minimizing distractions from what’s truly valuable or essential;

MinimalismMinimalism finds application in many creative disciplines, including art, architecture, design, dance, film-making, theater, music, fashion, photography and literature.

MINIMALISM:

The RiseIn the 1950’s the dominant art movement in the United States was Abstract Expressionism. The expressionist artists seek to express their personal emotions through their art.

MINIMALISM:

The RiseA highly popular branch of Abstract Expressionism was called Action Painting. This was a style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvass.

MINIMALISM:

The RiseIn the early 1960’s, a new movement emerged; Minimal Art. The Minimalists felt that Action Painting (and as such, Abstract Expressionism) was too personal, pretentious and insubstantial. They rejected the idea that art should reflect the personal expression of its creator.

MINIMALISM:

The Rise Instead, they adopted the point of view that a work of art should not refer to anything other than itself . Their goal was to make their works totally objective, unexpressive, and non-referential.

MINIMALISM:

The RiseOne of the first painters to be specifically linked with Minimalism was (the former Abstract Expressionist) Frank Stella. Stella’s instantly acclaimed minimalist Black Paintings (1958-1960), in which regular bands of black paint were separated by very thin pinstripes of unpainted canvas, contrasted the emotional canvases of Abstract Expressionism.

Philosophy

Eliminate emotions, allusions, and meanings;

Create a single object;

Move away from illusions and alternate perceptions;

Experience reality more directly

KeyCharacteristics

Clarity and Simplicityof Form

No Narrative

No Anecdotal Content or References

Emphasis on Pure Shapes

Often monochromatic surfaces

MinimalistsFamous minimalist artists

Black PaintingsFRANK STELLA

Black Paint Internally Defined Self-referential Objects

Tomlinson Court Park1967

The Marriage ofReason and Squalor1967

Nunca Pasa Nada1964

Portrait SeriesFRANK STELLA

1963 Irregular Shapes Internally Defined

Self-referential Objects

Frank Stella,Installation at Leo Castelli Gallery1960

Valparaiso SeriesFRANK STELLA

Irregular Shapes Internally Defined

Self-referential Objects

Colorful

Empress of India1965

ValparaisoFlesh and Green1963

Real Materials Existing inReal Space1968

Large Stack1968

Untitled, 1970

Untitled (Progression) 1976

Untitled (Progression) 1974

Untitled(Progression)1974

Untitled, 1962

Essay on Sculpture1964

Map ofPoetry1966

Poem1966

Sculpture as a FormCARL ANDRE

Pieces usually consisted of wooden blocks

Always comprised of geometric shapes

Stands vertically

No complex shapes

Timber Piece (Well)1962

The Way North, East,South, West1975

Sculpture as StructureCARL ANDRE

Stacked units

More complex shapes

Usually stands vertically

Cedar Piece1959

Still Blue Range1989

Sculpture as PlaceCARL ANDRE

Less rigid characteristics than the other types of sculpture

Pieces spread across the ground

No definite size, shape or material used

The piece of art defines the space that it occupies

Copper Ribbon1969

Untitled1972

Floor Structure Black1965

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 #21997

Progressive Structure1997

Wall Drawing#1136

Wall Drawing#346

Wall Drawing#879Loopy Doopy

Wall Drawing #631 & #614

Wall Drawing#901

Splotch #32000

Acrylic on fiber glass

Splotch #222007

Untitled1969

Monuments forV. Tatlin1968

Untitled (for you Leo, in long respect and affection) 3, 1978

Untitled (in honor of Harold Joachim) 3, 1977

Untitled, 1968

Architecture

Church of the LightIbaraki, Osaka1989

(building’s exterior)

Church of the LightIbaraki, Osaka1989

(building’s interior)

Modern Art Museum of Fort WorthFort Worth, Tarrant County, USA


Modern Art Museum of Fort WorthFort Worth, Tarrant County, USA


Sumida Towerfamously known as“Tokyo Skytree”

Sumida, Tokyo


Sumida Towerfamously known as“Tokyo Skytree”

Sumida, Tokyo

(observation deck)

Museo de al Memoria de Andalucia

(Andalucia Museum of Memory)

Granada, Spain

Museo de al Memoria de Andalucia

(Andalucia Museum of Memory)

Granada, Spain

Canadian Museum of Human Rights

Canadian Museum of Human Rights

The Difference betweenMinimalism and Simplicity(In one image)

CriticismLacking in the aesthetic qualities that art was normally expected to reveal, thus lessening the experience of the viewer.

CriticismMinimal Art blurred the boundaries between art and the every day, and so undervalued the art object.

Minimal Art TodayBy the late 1960s, Minimalism was beginning to show signs of breaking apart as a movement, as various artists who had been important to its early development began to move in different directions.

Minimal Art TodayHowever, critics agree that Minimalism formed a “crux” or turning point in the history of modernism, and the movement remains hugely influential today .

Minimal Art TodayIt’s everywhere!

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Education

Minimalism