Before and After the Emerge of Minimalsim in Art

A Brief History of Minimalism

Is at that place a standard definition of minimalist living? Should you define it on your own or adopt someone else'due south? To reply this, we will first give yous a cursory history of the term minimalism.

The formal (in the Oxford dictionary) definition of minimalism reveals an aesthetic principle simply over fourth dimension the word has evolved to hateful a lot of different things to a lot of different people. This is largely because of the elasticity of the concept of "less is more than" and the ability to apply information technology to lifestyle, art, fashion, architecture, literature, music and home decor. While those are the typical applications in modernistic times, it is helpful to get a background on how minimalism has evolved over time to what it is today.

Here are a few highlights from the past 200 years:

1800-1850: Introducing Simple Living in America

A transcendentalist philosophy takes hold in America and is popularized by the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

They held the idealistic view that insight and enlightenment tin exist gained through solitude and simplicity, such every bit illustrated in the volume Walden.

While not expressly stated as minimalism at this time, this new approach to simplicity is something that we would go along to see evolve for years to come.

1920-1930: The Elevated Blueprint Era

The modern style that the word minimalism is near associated with was heavily influenced past the Bauhaus School's ideal of balancing beauty with utility in product design.

In the Bauhaus Era, teachers and students of the school offered an alternative to uninspiring manufactured products and reimagined the function art could play in lodge.

By injecting creativity and thoughtfulness into the production of otherwise cheap and ubiquitous items, the Bauhaus school inspired the concept of elevated design for everyday life.

1960-1970: Minimalist Expansion

The give-and-take minimalism itself gains popularity amongst certain groups of young artists in the 60s who resisted the stifling conventions of fine art (such every bit abstract painter Agnes Martin, sculptor and artist Donald Judd, artist Frank Stella and others).

Minimalism started existence used as a colloquial term in writing, painting, architecture, and other aesthetic, blueprint, and creative fields. Minimalists started to interruption off from the Abstract Expressionism of previous generations, removing the storytelling or metaphors from their art and focusing on industrial materials, white space, and sleek, simplistic works.

Moreover, in the 70s Dieter Rams introduced his principles of adept design and ever since has been praised as one of the most influential figures in the pared dorsum, convenient product pattern trend that's then commonly chosen minimalist design.

1980-2000: Adaptation of Simple Living

The next phase of the history of minimalism saw an ongoing increase in the simple art and simple living movements. The tiresome food movement was initiated after the opening of a McDonald's was protested in Rome. It then inspired similar subcultures in other categories like sustainable mode and travel.

Supporters of "slowness" resist the modern idea that the fast acquisition and aggregating of more than things or experiences is somehow better. They believe quality is preferred over quantity and adjusting your life to a more deliberate step will help you become the virtually out of it.

2000 – Nowadays: Minimalism Becomes Mainstream

Blogging became mainstream and advocates of simple living, expert pattern, and the diverse irksome movements started using the medium as a way to share their ideas. Suddenly minimalism became the de facto term used across all of these communities.

The philosophy of simplicity is ages old but within this generation blogging sparked a heightened interest in applying "less is more" equally a lifestyle philosophy.

Over the past decade a alluvion of minimalist gurus turned a philosophy into a fad with 100-item or less challenges, 30-day no shopping contests, 10-things to throw abroad guides, and and so on.

People started writing scripts for applying minimalism to different areas of life. Hey, nosotros clearly jumped on the bandwagon too. However, while well-meaning, sometimes these rules have adverse outcomes.

At this indicate if someone tells you they are a minimalist you tin can't assume y'all know what they hateful. And even if their definition happens to be similar to yours, their interpretation may still be miles away from your thinking. A now ubiquitous term has lead to confusion and conflict that overshadows its positive connotation.

Of import Figures in the Minimalist Motility

Donald Judd

Donald Judd was an American artist, painter and sculptor who is credited with popularizing a lot of the principles of minimalist design. Though he never liked the term minimalism to describe his fine art, his utilise of geometric forms and simplistic design made Judd a contributor to the art movement nonetheless.

Carl Andre

Another office of the grouping that began the New York movement of the 1960'due south, Carl Andre helped to bring grid structures and a linear approach to sculptures. With elementary visual elements in his approach to sculpture, he helped to further the new, more modern art genre that we know as minimal art today.

Dan Flavin

Dan Flavin, too a New York sculptor who moved from abstract expressionism to a new style of fine art experience that helped this modern motion. Unique due to his employ of fluorescent lights in structures, his minimalistic art is still looked at today as one of the leaders in the history of minimalism.

Summary of the History of Minimalism

While there tin can be thousands of interpretations of what exactly minimalism means, understanding the history of the art movement and fifty-fifty the principles of thought behind information technology can help you to apply minimalism however yous'd like. We all feel art, music, literature and design in dissimilar ways. Drawing on this history of the art that strips away whatever objects that are non essential tin requite you inspiration for minimalist living across a number of areas. Y'all don't necessarily have to follow extreme minimalist living to get the benefits or infringe from the minimalist culture.

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Source: https://minimalism.co/articles/history-of-minimalism

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