Minimalism
● The Minimalist movement originated as a protest against Abstract Expressionism in
which an exaggerated metaphysical and existential importance was placed on each
movement and brushstroke of the artist.
● Rationalism, a mathematical way of thinking, abstractly was seen as a point of
departure by the Minimalists.
● Mondrian also influenced the ideas of the Minimalists as they followed his belief that a
work of art should be completely conceived by the mind before its execution.
● Ready-mades involve the use of an object as an artwork. This was started by Duchamp
who minimised the role of the artist in creating the art object. The artist became the
one to make the decisions as to what to choose to exhibit and how it should be
exhibited. This is also seen as an influence on the creation of art by the Minimalists.
● Flat fields of colour as seen in some of the Abstract Expressionist's work already
contained elements of Minimalism. The colourfield painters, such as Barnett Newman,
made paintings in which there was nothing else but a line on a flat field of colour or
simple symmetric one-colour paintings.
● The British philosopher Wollheim created the term Minimalism in 1965 to describe
sculptures without content. The title Primary Structures was also given to these works
during an exhibition in 1966 in New York. Another title was ABC ART.
The characteristics of Minimalism
● Minimalism is a self-conscious art movement that strove to create works that are
absolutely pure and have integrity through the simplification of art.
Subject matter: The simplicity of the mediums, geometric shapes and the scale of the
Minimalist artworks are its subject matter. The artists did not use any expressive content and the
titles of their works do not reveal a hidden meaning.
Composition: The arrangement of the geometric shapes in relation to the space around it
and, if more than one shape was used in the sculpture, in relation to the other parts of it, was
seen as a very important aspect of the artwork. This had to be planned ahead with precision.
The use of symmetry and the repetition of identical shapes are typical of Minimalist art.
Shape: The Minimalists used simple unitary geometric shapes that were mostly
three-dimensional.
Media: Most of the artists used industrial materials like galvanised iron, cold rolled steel,
fluorescent tubes, bricks, styrofoam cubes, copper plates, slate, pre-shaped wood and industrial
paint.
Application: In their quest to oppose the overemphasised value attributed to individual
mark-making by the Abstract Expressionists, the Minimalists' works did not show any signs of
their personal signature. The workmanship on their art was neutral and could have been
executed by anybody. In some instances the materials were ready-made items that had been
created in a factory and purchased by the artist.
● The Minimalist movement originated as a protest against Abstract Expressionism in
which an exaggerated metaphysical and existential importance was placed on each
movement and brushstroke of the artist.
● Rationalism, a mathematical way of thinking, abstractly was seen as a point of
departure by the Minimalists.
● Mondrian also influenced the ideas of the Minimalists as they followed his belief that a
work of art should be completely conceived by the mind before its execution.
● Ready-mades involve the use of an object as an artwork. This was started by Duchamp
who minimised the role of the artist in creating the art object. The artist became the
one to make the decisions as to what to choose to exhibit and how it should be
exhibited. This is also seen as an influence on the creation of art by the Minimalists.
● Flat fields of colour as seen in some of the Abstract Expressionist's work already
contained elements of Minimalism. The colourfield painters, such as Barnett Newman,
made paintings in which there was nothing else but a line on a flat field of colour or
simple symmetric one-colour paintings.
● The British philosopher Wollheim created the term Minimalism in 1965 to describe
sculptures without content. The title Primary Structures was also given to these works
during an exhibition in 1966 in New York. Another title was ABC ART.
The characteristics of Minimalism
● Minimalism is a self-conscious art movement that strove to create works that are
absolutely pure and have integrity through the simplification of art.
Subject matter: The simplicity of the mediums, geometric shapes and the scale of the
Minimalist artworks are its subject matter. The artists did not use any expressive content and the
titles of their works do not reveal a hidden meaning.
Composition: The arrangement of the geometric shapes in relation to the space around it
and, if more than one shape was used in the sculpture, in relation to the other parts of it, was
seen as a very important aspect of the artwork. This had to be planned ahead with precision.
The use of symmetry and the repetition of identical shapes are typical of Minimalist art.
Shape: The Minimalists used simple unitary geometric shapes that were mostly
three-dimensional.
Media: Most of the artists used industrial materials like galvanised iron, cold rolled steel,
fluorescent tubes, bricks, styrofoam cubes, copper plates, slate, pre-shaped wood and industrial
paint.
Application: In their quest to oppose the overemphasised value attributed to individual
mark-making by the Abstract Expressionists, the Minimalists' works did not show any signs of
their personal signature. The workmanship on their art was neutral and could have been
executed by anybody. In some instances the materials were ready-made items that had been
created in a factory and purchased by the artist.
