The A to Z of Isms.
Minimalism.
For some people, minimalism just means not owning any stuff,
it's a lifestyle choice.
It means owning few possessions, living in largely empty space,
and even eating minimalist food.
No chips for the minimalists.
They own shiny white tablets, shop at little grey stores,
and don’t have enough black plastic chairs.
For some, it's to do with architecture,
and for others, it’s a musical movement.
In fact, minimalism is a philosophy
with roots and branches in many places.
The word minimalism first turns up in 1965,
in an article by British philosopher, Richard Wollheim,
who wrote about artists with minimal art content.
This negative description was turned into a positive
by minimalist artists.
They saw minimalism as a kind of pure art.
To quote the minimalist painter Frank Stella,
This isn't art that copies something real - a person's face, a nice horse,
or tries to depict a feeling.
A minimalist art object is itself, and nothing else.
All minimalism is, in part, a reaction.
In the case of minimalist architecture,
it’s a reaction to decoration, to ornament, and to fuss.
Minimalist buildings are simple,
and minimalist architects like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,
and Maya Lin create structures full of light and space.
Their work can be summed up in Van der Rohe's famous statement that,
"Less is more."
Minimalist gurus, like Marie Kondo, believe in decluttering, but say,
"It's not about knowing what to throw out, it's knowing what to keep."
A lot of minimalism can appear harsh and inhuman,
the exception is minimalistic music.
Pioneered by composers like Philip Glass,
minimalist music features repetition, simple patterns, and phase shifting-
the movement of a repeating item to create an arresting effect.
Despite the often austere simplicity of the music, or because of it,
many minimalistic pieces of music are profoundly moving
and deeply emotional.
Minimalism is, in part,
a reaction to the increasingly busy and loud world around us.
Artists and consumers alike
have reacted against the clutter and chaos of life and art,
and created many disparate forms of minimalism.
Sometimes minimalism can seem confusing,
as in Carl Andre's famous brick sculpture.
Sometimes it can be stark, like a Mise van der Rohe office block.
But sometimes, as in the field of minimalist music,
minimalism can be beautiful.
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