Minimalism, the Emptiness of Plenty! Or how Reductionist Culture will inevitably battle its Reign over this never-ending Consumerism Crisis one day at a time
So yet again, we all have heard that before, about the less is more. But why do we accept it? Minimalism is a state of mind. Its is calm, it is light, it is clean, it is full of contradiction.
With such a fancy modernist notion standing by — Reductionism /rɪˈdʌkʃ(ə)nɪz(ə)m/ — a practice of analysing and describing a complex phenomenon in terms of its simple or fundamental constituents, especially when this is said to provide a sufficient explanation.
Clean, pure forms that are far apart from clutter of all the unnecessary, allowing our imagination to fill in the void and the complexity of receiving information allows us to relax and reflect with ease in the process of viewing and understanding things. When distractive over saturation of decorative elements charge the composition of environment, that is not the best way to focus ones creative energy.
Minimalism is a borderline lifestyle concept that highlights and frames the works of some of the most iconic artists, sculptors, designers and architects of our time, even musicians experiment in this genre. An art form that transcends through the rawness of material, the techniques that can only be achieved either through meticulous hand craft or via the futuristic industrial processes of forging unprecedented shapes and colours. Plain white walls that hold the buildings are more than enough and considered new and fresh, while schools such as Bauhaus emerge with their philosophies while designing these buildings. In the fashion world, since the 90s up until today the imaginations have been focused on fitted tailored silhouettes with refined fabrics, pure cold office looks at its finest. These are just a few honourable features that identify the realm of minimalism, but we are only getting started with examples, where we will try to analyse more through the prism of few names that Omnifinery admires.
It is a vulnerable place, that emphasises out of a belief the importance of belongings and how our environments or anything external greatly affect any aspects of our lives. It turns out, that is right! Science and research are in pretty firm agreement on that front also.
Most things in life are impulsive or sentimental, so are our belongings that require something of us — our energy, our focus, our time for that matter. Minimalism prompts us to be much more intentional about what stuff we allow to take in or take away from us. It’s about practicing awareness of the surrounding we occupy and how it affects us. Not so much for quantity, but quality. The most exquisite quality.
So where does this urge come from? Throwing away all the unnecessary, declutter is a common weekly routine in modern society. The excuses of over-consumption is a very easy way out of an explanation, or perhaps it is all due to the finite commodity of available storage space? We can only speculate, but lets see some works of real masters and better understand the thinking process behind minimalism.
The very new thing indeed, one might argue it all started only on the verge of 20th century, not that far ago one might assume, where a highly decorative abundance of colour and texture got substituted by the abstract thinking which questioned reality.
The first pioneer that comes to mind is Constantin Brancusi, a man whose name evokes visions of bright, well lighted ateliers and early 20th century Paris in it’s creative prime. His wild minimalism quietly stirs the soul. His simple forms speak volumes. Brancusi stripped sculpture of its pretence and laid it bare and raw, while giving us a body of work as relevant today as it was a century ago. His explanation quotes ‘simplicity is complexity resolved.’ The father of modern sculpture — rightfully so — though he himself looked deep into the past. He sought inspiration in primitive art and primary forms of ancient civilisations; reaching back to man’s roots to move forward in search of meaning. Perhaps minimalism is as old as the time itself in this case? Perhaps minimalism can be traced back to primitivism for that matter? The first tools, the first shapes, the simple lines on a hand polished stone?
Brancusi transported himself to conquering Paris Art Scene from his home in rural Romania mostly on foot, he did not need much in a first place, was he a minimalist by choice or by necessity. He carved his pieces from wood and stone with his bare hands; primitive materials that have been worked by hand since the beginning of time. The fact that Brancusi chose to carve; as opposed to making molds and casting in bronze as many of his contemporaries were at the time, would have made him somewhat of an retrograde. But was he really? As a matter of fact, Brancusi was one of the first in sculpture to abandon direct representation intentionally in favour of abstraction. He then allowed the natural materials to have their say, letting the direction of grain in a bolt of wood speak for the final form. Therefore perhaps minimalism is a natural flow of things, or is it intentionally manipulated by a hand of a man?
Our second protagonist will try to respond to that half a century later, productive since the 1950s on the other side of the Atlantic, a rare bird who inspires generations of rejection, an american Donald Judd. The laureate of industrialised technological rationality, which looks monumental and feels violent, sometimes damned as a projection of masculine power. Why minimalism is associated with masculinity? Perhaps because it seams lonely, sharp, uncomfortable and cold? Perhaps due to asceticism, a severe self-discipline and avoidance of any forms of indulgence, most commonly due to deep religious reasons. Can minimalism be feminine at all? The feminine implies warmth and comfort though, so in such case is minimalism really as comfortable as it is perceived? Well, yes, we can always appreciate a lot of warmth and comfort in Agnes Martin’s white stripe canvases and her focus when it comes to her inspiration and creative process. As well as her minimalistic lifestyle. Her work radiates purity and feminine energy.
Of course, Judd wasn’t the only hard core minimalist, however his style did affect a fundamental revision of sculpture, and late forays into furniture production — and the wide popularity of a minimalist design emerged of how we perceive the aesthetics of minimalism today with no patience nor tolerance for complication. As Judd’s contemporary Frank Stella said of his own minimalist paintings, ‘What you see is what you see.’ Yet in theory Judd was much more complex than Judd in practice, sharply focused and in-depth philosophical while describing a process behind the series of box-shaped polished forms.
So we do require that comfort of explanation behind the work of minimalist art, is it boarder line conceptualism then? Well, any work of art or creative energy start with a concept behind the scenes, whether it is a technique, a process of production or a final result. But everyone seeks for a kind of functionality from an object, yet minimalism simply just works. Nothing can be more functional than modern minimalist architecture for instance. Le Corbusier’s declaration in 1923 that ‘a house is a machine for living in’, swept away the conventions of decorations for the sake of decorations that had been the order of the day, and presented minimalism with function as the new ideals in architecture. Nearly a century on, Le Corbusier’s influence and his words are still palpable — and not just in the work of exteriors and structures, but also deeply embed in interior design, particularly well represented in the worlds of Fashion and Art Galleries respectively. White walls, matt floors, open wide bright windows, both serving as sources of light and displays of beauty at the same time, while giving the observer so much freedom of movement and wide viewing spectrum. And guess what, it is comfortable and fairly easy though does not require that much resources, whether tangible physical nor intangible such as time.
So minimalism is indeed important after all, however it does come with a sacrifice. On a positive side this sacrifice is rejecting the speed, the anxiety, the never-ending consumerism. It opposes the over-production, an enemy to economy, yet represents economic prosperity and sophisticated taste aiming for purity.
Minimalism is merely a tool that assists us in finding freedom of spirit and clarity of mind, a disengagement from complexities of life.
Omnifinery — Feel Comfort in Your Individuality
Text: Editorial Staff
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Evgeny is an art director and a global citizen based in Hong Kong and working between Asia and Europe.
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