Minimalism

Minimalism

What is Minimalism?

• Never clearly defined movement• Artists within the movement opposed each

other• “Much has been written about minimal art,

but I have not discovered anyone who admits to doing this kind of thing” -LeWitt

How it began

• Against abstract expressionism

• Turn away from inner psychological expression toward observation and referencing everyday life

• Wanted a more American art form

• “Getting rid of the things that people used to think were essential to art” - Judd

Abstract Expressionism

Number 28, 1950Jackson Pollock  (1950)

Minimalism

Tomlinson Court Park (from Black Series I)

Frank Stella (1967)

Physical Characteristics

• Clean, bare, simple• Monochromatic colors• Geometric shapes, and clean lines• Repitition• Industrial materials (pre-made)• Installations• Gallery scale

Symbolic Characteristics

• Void of emotional meaning• Void of political intent• Void of associations and symbolism• Some artists drew inspiration from things,

but it wasn’t meant to be hidden.• “What you see, is what you see”-Stella

Main Artists

• Frank Stella-1936 to Present• Sol LeWitt-1928 to 2007• Dan Flavin-1933 to1996• Donald Judd-1928 to 1994• Carl Andre-1935 to Present• Robert Morris- 1931 to Present

Frank Stella

• Painter/printmaker/sculptor/architect• Influenced by Abstract Expressionism

– Wanted to divert from it• Emphasize flatness of canvas• Worked with basic elements of art• Black geometric Color Curve 3D

Painting Printing Sculpture Architecture

Frank Stella

Zambezi

(1959)

Frank Stella

Flin Flon VIII

(1970)

Frank Stella

Jarama II

(1982)

Sol LeWitt

• Sculptor/painter/drawings• Wall Drawings• Both color and grayscale• Require massive teams• LeWitt was a director• Months to make• Interested in ideas not objects.

Sol LeWitt Drawing 880

(1998)

Sol LeWitt Wall DrawingTimelapse

• http://www.massmoca.org/lewitt/timelapse.php?id=1 (Rainbow Swirl)

Sol LeWitt cont.

• Structures – Modular Structures

• Skeletal Framework• Focused on texture• Later moved on to complex forms

Wall Structure (1963)

Wall Structure(Side View)

Five Modular Structures (1972)

Complex Form(1978-1980)

Dan Flavin

• Light Propositions• Inhabits entire space with light• Wash walls with color• Makes the most with least material• Mixes light together like paint• Not meant to be permanent• Corners, barriers, corridors

Dan Flavin

Untitled

(in honor

of Harold

Joachim) 3

(1977)

Monument 4 for those who have been killed in ambush (to P.K. who reminded

me about death) (1966)

Donald Judd

• Started off with paintings• “Specific Objects”• Forms included ‘stacks’,

‘boxes’, and ‘progressions’

• Industrial materials• Designed for specific

locations• Critic of art

Untitled(1962)

Untitled (1964)

Untitled(1965)

Carl Andre

• Sculptor• Raw materials• Sculpture-as-place• Designed for specific

locations• Gallery scale

Pyramid(1959)

Andre Stella

Spill(1966)

Steel Square (1967)

Minimalist Music• Repition• Short phrases• Long periods of time• Stasis• Steady, constant harmony and pulse• Hypnotic Effect• Composers

– Phillip Glass, La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich

Minimalist Music

• Phillip Glass – 600 Lines– Repetitive– Quick switches in rhythm– Long period of time (player stamina)

• La Monte Young – The Well Tuned Piano– Monotonous– Deals with the physics of sound– How it sounds– Influenced by mathematical compositions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYnDg7W6GpE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7tmxHhcH0w

Robert Morris

• Not always a Minimalist• Theatre -stage props• “Blank Forms”• Unstructured forms• Gallery scale• Mirrors

Untitled(1964)

Mirrored Cubes(1965)

Untitled (1965-67)

Criticisms

• Lack of complexity• Incoherent movement• Simple, no skill required• Only difference between this art and

everyday life, is the setting of the gallery

Afterwards

• Lead to a contemporary form of minimalism

• Headed toward land art

• Influenced Architecture and Interior Design