minimalism

minimalism:

Minimalism, also known as minimalist art, can be viewed as an extension of the abstract concept that art must uphold its reality; it cannot imitate a foreign object. When we think of art, our mind fills with many aspects of the natural world, such as a person, a landscape, or even your phone’s charge lying beside you, or perhaps a feeling or emotion.

With minimalism, an artist doesn’t attempt to represent “outer” reality in any way. Their idea is to help viewers respond to what is in front of them at the moment. The medium from which it is made, along with the form of the work, is what is considered reality. Famous minimalist artist Frank Stella said about his works, “What you see is what you see.”

This art movement was popularized and developed in the late ’50s and ’60s. During those times, a significant transition was noticed in the art world, especially amongst younger painters who actively rejected the “constraints” of abstract expressionism.

It was a ground-breaking event back then, as it saw painters channeling their ideas into highlighting the purest, rawest essence of material and medium to create the art itself. Minimalism takes out all necessary forms so it can expose the beauty and purity of the art object.

This genre has mainly been connected with conceptual art, which radicalized the ’60s with how it challenged set structures of creating, seeing, and conceptualizing art.

With minimalism focusing primarily on the aesthetic quality of the used materials and surface of the canvas, the art has been closely linked with ideas of honesty and truth. Artists will not try to hide their goals behind the shell of something else.

The movement wanted to remove the limelight from personal expression – or keep it at a minimum. Geometric lines harmoniously meet to reinforce simplicity, and the paintings lack expressive features deliberately.

Key artists include Carl Andre, Donald Judd, Frank Stella, Robert Irwin, Robert Morris, Sol LeWitt, etc.