Minimalism project

MinimalismBy: Lauren Kahrs, Michelle Flora, Whitney Templeton

“What you see is what you see”

– Frank Stella

Background

• Began in New York in the 1960’s

• Influenced by traditional Japanese design

• Reaction to abstract expressionism

Defining Minimalism

• Simplicity

• No meaning

• Unity

• Realistic

• Geometric

Minimalist art• Focuses on shape, line, color, and value

• Repetitive patterns

• Industrial materials

• Texture and surface

• Basic objects

Frank Stella

• Born May 12, 1936

• Inspired from New York art galleries

• Studied art at Phillips Academy and

Princeton

• Learned to paint from an abstractionist

• Main figure of the art movement

Stella’s Style

• Flatness and quality of the objects

• Geometric shapes and use of color

• Three dimensional paintings

• Sculptures

“The Black Paintings”

“Geometric Variations”

Donald Judd

• Born June 3, 1928

• Studied philosophy at Columbia University

• Majored in art history

• Enrolled in Art Students League

• Art critic for American art magazines

Judd’s Style

• Used repetitive geometric shapes

• Colorful and shiny materials

• “Boxes”- unity, space and balance

• “Stacks”- color, light and materials

• “Progressions”- movement

“Stacks”

“Boxes”

“Progressions”

Sol Lewitt

• Born September 9, 1928

• Mother took him to art lessons

• Studied at The School of Visual Arts in

1953

• Working at The Museum of Modern Art

influenced his later work

Lewitt’s Style

• Used mostly squares and cubes

• Shifted from 3D to wall paintings

• Became interested in curvilinear shapes

• “To recreate art, to start from square one”

– Lewitt

“Painted wood”

Wall Drawing #122

Dan Flavin

• Born April 1, 1933

• Started drawing at a young age

• Observed lighting and structure of buildings

• Took art classes at University of Maryland

• Art history degree from Columbia

Flavin’s Style

• Light installations

• Interaction of light and color

• Detailed planning using math for accuracy

“A Retrospective”

Untitled

Other types of minimalism

• Lifestyle

• Music

• Architecture

• Design

Philip Glass

• Music with repetitive structure

• Slow sounds

• Continually added small changes

• Composed 80 symphonies

• Had a captivating effect

• http://library.thinkquest.org/27110/noframes/perio

ds/minimalism.html

Minimalist lifestyle

• Living a simplistic lifestyle

• Only owning things necessary for living

• Achieving happiness through life

Reactions

• “Art and Objecthood” –Michael Fried

▫ Confusing the categories of art and object

• Turning point in the history of modern art

• Controversy over definition of art

▫ No aesthetic qualities