A Comprehensive Look at Minimalism: 23 Descriptions Exploring the Concept
In the mid-20th century, a reaction against the complexity and emotional intensity of previous art styles gave birth to the minimalist movement. This movement, characterized by a focus on essential forms, clarity, and reduction, has since transformed multiple creative fields.
At its core, minimalism strips away non-essential elements to highlight fundamental forms. It often employs monochrome palettes, geometric shapes, and a reduction of decoration or narrative. The movement's roots can be traced back to early 20th-century abstract artists like Kazimir Malevich, the Bauhaus movement in Germany, and the Purism movement led by Le Corbusier and Amédée Ozenfant.
The Purism movement, which emerged around 1918, advocated for the depiction of objects in powerful basic forms without details, embracing industrial and mechanical aesthetics, and rejecting ornamentation. This ideology paved the way for minimalism, which crystallized into a formal movement in the 1960s, primarily in the United States. Artists like Frank Stella, Sol LeWitt, Donald Judd, and Agnes Martin consciously rejected gestural and emotional art forms, instead focusing on purity of form and a literal approach emphasizing neutrality and objectivity.
Minimalism extended beyond painting to sculpture, architecture, design, and music, promoting the ethos of "less is more." This aesthetic also drew inspiration from Eastern philosophies like Zen Buddhism and Taoism, which emphasize simplicity and detachment from material excess.
The minimalist movement influenced subsequent movements such as conceptual art, land art, and installation art, by paving the way for art that focuses on ideas and space rather than detailed representation or emotional expression. Its architectural counterparts, championed by figures like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Tadao Ando, emphasized clean lines, open space, and functionality rooted in minimalist principles.
Practicing minimalism in daily life involves a minimalist approach to belongings, time, and energy. A minimalist might be one who practices a lifestyle of awareness and intention, often referred to as paring down, to slowly remove unnecessary belongings. A capsule wardrobe, for example, is a limited wardrobe of versatile items. To declutter is to remove clutter, extra, unnecessary belongings, whether hidden away or displayed as a daily tripping hazard.
Contentment, the level of satisfaction with where you are and what you have, often reached in minimalism, is a key aspect of the movement. Being materialistic, on the other hand, means placing a high value on possessions. Being affluent means having a lot of money, but minimalism is not necessarily about wealth. Rather, it's about getting back to basics, minimalism being a type of simple living.
Minimalism encourages being mindful, using items in new ways (repurposing), and being money conscious (frugal). To purge, to get rid of items, is also an important part of the minimalist lifestyle. Consumerism, while not directly related to minimalism, can be at odds with the minimalist ethos, especially when it comes to buying for the sake of buying.
In recent years, minimalism has evolved into practical minimalism, a level of minimalism that isn't overbearing, suitable for those with families or other practical needs. Leveling, a term used by Joshua Becker in his books and teachings, refers to moving items to another room rather than out of the house. Essentialism, keeping or doing only what is truly necessary, is another principle that aligns with the minimalist lifestyle.
In conclusion, minimalism, with its roots in early 20th-century abstraction and purist ideals, has matured into a movement that transcends art and design, influencing multiple creative fields by focusing on essential forms, clarity, and reduction. As a lifestyle, minimalism encourages mindfulness, repurposing, frugality, and the deliberate removal of clutter, all with the goal of achieving contentment and simplicity.
References: [1] https://www.britannica.com/art/minimalism [2] https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-minimalism-a-brief-history [3] https://www.theartstory.org/movement-purism.htm [4] https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/minimalism
- A mindful approach to daily life, known as minimalism, involves paring down and removing unnecessary belongings, promoting contentment and simplicity.
- Influenced by early 20th-century abstraction and purist ideals, minimalism has transformed multiple creative fields, focusing on essential forms, clarity, and reduction.
- The minimalist lifestyle encourages the repurposing of items, frugality, and the deliberate removal of clutter, aligning with principles like essentialism and leveling.
- Minimalism, in its art and design form, emerged around 1918 with the Purism movement, advocating for the depiction of objects in basic forms without details and embracing a literal approach.
- To declutter is a key aspect of minimalism, helping achieve contentment by removing extra or unnecessary belongings, whether hidden or displayed.
- The minimalist movement has influenced subsequent movements in art and design, promoting the ethos of "less is more" and emphasizing space and ideas over detailed representation or emotional expression.
- Practicing a minimalist lifestyle often involves adopting a lifestyle of awareness and intention, focused on living intentionally, organizing spaces in a way that promotes functionality, and pursuing personal growth and education-and-self-development.
