History of Design; Minimalism
Minimalism, it is often interpreted as getting rid of stuff and having a tidied, Instagram worthy interior with snow-white walls. It is starting to become a buzzword with a lost definition and people have started using it whether relevant or not. However, Minimalism is more than a tidy, clean place. It is a refined movement that has emerged in different fields throughout history. Let’s clear up a bit of what Minimalism exactly entails, what this movement is about and see in which forms it popped up over time.
Art
It started off in the 60s when it arose as an art movement. Maybe you know these paintings in which it looks like a stash of paint tubes has been grabbed and the paint has expressively been splashed all over the canvas? This can, for example, be seen in the paintings by Jackson Pollock. Well, the artists of the minimalist movement didn’t like that anymore. They moved away from this so-called ‘abstract expressionism’ and went back to the basic aspects and principles of modernism. Instead of the dramatic paintings, several artists favored a more objective form of art. Their art was not about self-expression but focused on the materiality where art should not refer to anything else than itself.
This movement emerged in New York but was among other things inspired by European movements such as Bauhaus and De Stijl. The young artists that developed this movement did this by the work they made, but they also critically reviewed the style and published theoretical papers. Donald Judd, an important minimalist known from his untitled ‘stack sculptures’, wrote ‘Specific Objects’¹ in which he moved away from the distinction between art forms such as paintings and sculptures and talked about this new form of specific objects where ‘its materials are somewhat more emphasized than before’. Sol LeWitt wrote ‘Paragraphs of conceptual art’² what is seen as the movement’s manifesto. A famous project of him is ‘Incomplete open cubes’ in which he explores all the possible frame structures which still form a three-dimensional cube.
Both artists ironically rejected the term Minimalism while they are seen as spokespersons and developers of the movement. Judd talks about his ‘specific objects’ where LeWitt talks about ‘conceptual art’ seen as a separate movement co-existing with Minimalism. LeWitt says in his manifesto “Recently there has been much written about minimal art, but I have not discovered anyone who admits to doing this kind of thing. […] Therefore, I conclude that it is part of secret language that art critics use when communicating with each other […]”
Design
Besides art, Minimalism became a well-known style in the 90s in fields such as architecture, interior, fashion and furniture design. A design focus on functionality with an aversion of decorative elements had been there before, however, Minimalism went a step further with their highly refined designs. In this field designers played with abstract notions of space and light while also having an interest in immateriality in design. Everything was stripped to the essentials and as Elizabeth Wilhide in ‘Design the whole story’³ writes, “the difference was not that there was very little in the dressing-up box but that the dressing-up box was discarded altogether”. The famous saying ‘less is more’ was used by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe to sum up his vision on architecture and explain how he reduced buildings into simple forms.
“the difference was not that there was very little in the dressing-up box but that the dressing-up box was discarded altogether”
An example of his work that you may know if you went to Barcelona and visited another architectural exploit than the Sagrada Familia is the Barcelona Pavilion. With a minimal number of walls, Mies was able to create a clever structure in which inside and outside were brought together in a continuous space. By use of luxurious materials such as marble, steel and different types of stones the building offers phenomenal views through the structure.
It seems logical that just at a time of economic recession this trend of empty interiors with a sober impression reached success. However, Minimalism wasn’t cheap at all. In interiors, architectural features were made unseen to create a seamless look. Where there was almost nothing to distract the viewer, the surfaces and finishes had to be perfect.
John Pawson is seen as the most influential figure in Minimalism who was inspired by the Zen concept of ‘thinglessness’ from Japan. His interiors are the complete opposite of the cozy, cluttered decorations you can find at conventional low-budget warehouses. Surfaces come invisibly together known as ‘shadow gapping’. It looks so pure, serene and perfect that it almost seems as if humans would not fit in there. Crumbling up a biscuit on the couch would immediately ruin the design.
Lifestyle
These minimal living environments render a feeling of calm and quiet. A feeling people can nowadays really ache for in our busy lives where we get flooded with information and opportunities. Many students have difficulties with defining priorities and keeping charged and relaxed throughout their activities. Besides, as consumers, we get to hear that the level of consumption we have now won’t work like this for long. First adopters have started to reject the consumer lifestyle. This consumer lifestyle is not only something which we’ve adopted ourselves but is sold to us by those who want to make a lot of money. As ‘the minimalists’ state in their documentary⁴ “There is nothing wrong with consumption, the problem is compulsory consumption.”
In all these shifting elements a minimalist lifestyle fits in quite well. It focuses on decluttering our lives, finding out what stuff is essential for you and getting rid of anything else connecting this removal of physical clutter to our mental state. It is closely tied to mindfulness, to bringing the attention to the present.
You might know some of these clean up gurus that will make sure you will become happier with your life. It can seem a bit control-freak-like to organize everything to this extent to be able to relax. Although it might not work for everyone, a minimalist living can help to shed distractions, be less dependent on our stuff and find some perspective on what is of true importance to us.
¹Specific objects by Donald Judd
²Paragraphs on conceptual art by Sol LeWitt
³Design: The whole story by Elizabeth Wilhide
⁴Minimalism: A documentary about the important things
