T. C.I.M THE CORPORATE IDENTITY OF MINIMALISM
T. C.I.M THE CORPORATE IDENTITY OF MINIMALISM
PHOTOGRAPHY
JODIE LANCASTER
Welcome to our first book, a book which has been designed to give minimalism a sense of humour, by highlighting the controversial lengths some individuals are willing to go to in order to lead a minimalist life. We hope you find this book as interesting as we do and take no offense from the content we have produced.
/ PREFACE page 09
/ PERSPECTIVE page 11
/ PRESENCE page 31
/ PERCEPTION page 83
PREFACE What is minimalism is a simple question that has remained unresolved since the birth of the art movement in the early ‘60s. Minimalism caused a lot of controversy; being poorly received by viewers as it was suggested that the new art lacked complexity. Although some of the negative connotations surrounding minimalism are no longer relevant, the quest to define it continues. We, The Corporate Identity of Minimalism, want to show the depth and creativity behind minimalist work and demonstrate that it isn’t always about black text on white paper. Our intentions are to challenge and change the negative perceptions that surround this misunderstood art movement, lifestyle trend and creative influence. We want to inspire you who already admire the minimalist aesthetic, enriching your knowledge through written and visual content. According to The Minimalists minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom, real freedom. Minimalism simply allows you to make decisions more consciously, more deliberately. It’s a tool used to rid yourself of life’s excess in favour of focusing on what’s important. Only then can you find happiness, fulfilment and freedom. Simplifying your life is equivalent to simplifying your work. A designer knows when he has achieved perfection when there is nothing left to take away. We produced content that we feel showcases minimalism in a new light. We hope this book stays loved, used and relevant. Enjoy.
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PERSPECTIVE
(n) •
The art of representing three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface to give the right impression of their height, width, depth.
•
A particular attitude towards or way of regarding something; a point of view.
IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS There is something satisfying about the colour white and its ability to make people happy. White is the blank canvas waiting to be written on; it opens the way for the creation of anything the mind can conceive. Details help you visualise a picture, whether that be in creative writing, photography, or a beautiful painting. Attention to detail is important because it requires one to notice everything that might be important. Capturing the readers attention, they have the ability to create any story they like.
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TEXTURES These photographs represent simplicity and clarity, two fundamental elements within minimalism. Focusing on the tiny elements that make up the bigger picture, we wanted to photograph the intricate and the interesting.
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it’s more about what you leave out than put in 21
HOW STRONG WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR MINIMALISM, SIR? “Minimalism is like coffee. You can make it any way you want. You can make it strong and remove everything from your life except for only the essentials. You can make it weak, and remove only a little bit just tweaking your life into different shapes and positive arrangements. Both of these approaches are valid. Just like their middle ground there is the highest and lowest setting. They are equal and perfectly acceptable. They all coexist. At the core, minimalism is about less. How much less is up to you.” - So minimal we couldn’t find the authors name
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THE HEPWORTH,
WAKEFIELD
The Hepworth, Wakefield is the third largest purpose built exhibition space outside of London. The building compliments the scale and form of the existing industrial buildings, and appears to rise out of the River Calder. The structure is composed of ten trapezoidal blocks and the façade is clad with self-compacting pigmented concrete– the first of its kind in the United Kingdom. Casting it on site allowed the architect David Chipperfield to create large monolithic walls and roofs that emphasise the geometric quality of the building. The gallery is designed to create an unfamiliar appearance yet interesting to look at up close and from a distance.
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IN BRONZE The Hepworth Family Gift, is a unique collection of Barbara Hepworth’s working models that is on permanent display at The Hepworth. Representing the first stage of the creative process, they offer an invaluable insight into her art and, in particular, her approach to working with plaster. The collection reflects the variety of ways in which Hepworth used plaster and aluminium. She preferred to make prototypes on the same scale as the finished sculptures and would have worked directly on the majority of these models. 29
PRESENCE
(n) •
The state or fact of existing, occurring, or being present.
•
A person or thing that exists or is present in a place but is not seen.
FEEDING THE CORE
Each sold separately. Utensils not included.
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IS YOUR BOOKSHELF FULL OF COOKBOOKS THAT YOU NEVER USE? Well look no further because we have a solution, introducing Feed, the NEW food for minimalists. It contains the best possible nutrition in the smallest possible value.
ARE YOU A TERRIBLE COOK WHO RUINS EVERYTHING IN THE KITCHEN? Our new handy little tablets are convenient, compact and lightweight. They are completely nutritional, have a ten year shelf–life and are absolutely delicious.
DO YOU NOT HAVE TIME TO COOK YOURSELF THE FOOD YOU DESERVE? Pop in one of these tablets and let them melt in your mouth, you’ll probably chew them up because they are so irresistible. Available in a variety of meals, get cooking today.
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CHESTNUT & SAGE SOUP Serves 4
• 3 tbsp Olive Oil • 15g Butter • 1 Onion • 6 Sage Leaves • 1 Garlic Clove • 1L Vegetable Stock • 400g Cooked / Peeled Chestnuts • 100ml Creme Fraiche • Sea Salt • Black Pepper
Preheat the oven to 190C. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the butter in a saucepan over a medium-low heat and sweat the onion for about 10 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the sage and garlic and sauté for a minute. Pour in the stock and add most of the chestnuts. Season with salt and pepper, increase the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. Remove from the heat and cool slightly, then purée until very smooth in a blender. Pour in a roasting tin and place into the oven for one hour. Stir the soup twice to make sure the liquid is forming into a tablet. After one hour, remove the roasting tin from the oven to check all the remaining liquid has absorbed and four tablets have been left behind. You can serve the soup immediately or store in a jar for up to ten years.
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BABY BEET TART TATIN Puff Pastry
• 400g All-butter, ready made puff pastry Filling • 500g BabyBeetroot • 25g Butter • 1 tbs olive oil • 1tbs cider vinegar • 1tbs soft • brown sugar • Sea salt • Black Pepper
Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan large enough for all the beetroot to sit snugly, add the beetroot and toss to coat in the oil and butter. Add the sugar and vinegar, season and taste, adjusting the vinegar and sugar if necessary. Cover the pan with foil and place in an oven preheated to 190C for approximately 40 minutes or until the beetroot is tender. When the beetroot is cooked remove from the oven and arrange neatly in the pan. Roll out the pastry and cut a circle a little larger than the pan. Carefully place the pastry over the beetroot tucking the excess pastry into the pan. Return to the oven and cook for 45 minutes until four tablets have formed. To serve simply serve with a side tablet of your choice. The tablets can be enjoyed immediately or stored in a jar for up to ten years.
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SWEET POTATO & PEANUT GRATIN Serves 4 •
1kg Sweet Potatoes
•
2 tbs Sunflower
Preheat oven to 190C and lightly oil a large gratin dish. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into slices. In a large bowl, toss the potato slices with 1 tablespoon of the oil, the chilli,
Oil
garlic, cream, and some salt & pepper.
•
1 Red Chilli
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3 Garlic Cloves
Arrange half the sweet potato slices evenly in
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250ml Double Cream
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150g Peanut Butter
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1 Lime Zest
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2 tsp Lime Juice
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Sea Salt
•
Black Pepper
the gratin dish. You do not have to layer them piece by piece, but try to ensure that the slices are mostly lying flat. Beat the peanut butter with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, the lime zest, and the lime juice. Spread this mixture in dollops over the sweet potatoes in the dish. Cover evenly with the remaining sweet potato slices. Pour over any cream remaining in the bowl. Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 20 minutes, then remove the foil. Bake for a further 30 minutes or so, until the sweet potatoes have turned into orange tablets. Serve immediately or store in a jar for up to ten years.
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SPICED APPLES & BLACKBERRIES Serves 4 •
4 medium Bramley apples, each weighing about 200g/8oz
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4 tbsp clear honey
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½ tsp ground cinnamon
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1 large orange, zest & juice
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250g blackberries
Preheat the oven to 180C. Core the apples so you have a hole the size of a pound coin in each one. Make a cut just into the skin around the middle of each apple. Stand the apples in a shallow baking dish large enough to take all four. Mix together the honey, cinnamon and orange zest, put an equal amount into the cavity of each apple, then pour the orange juice into the dish. Roast the apples for 40 minutes, spooning the juices over them occasionally. Then, when the apples are almost ready, spoon the blackberries around and over the top of each apple. Return to the oven for 30 minutes, check the remaining liquid has absorbed and four tablets have formed. Serve immediately.
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THE PERFECT MINIMALIST LIFE Minimalism has become a lifestyle for individuals who want to escape life’s excess. Consumerism, materialistic possessions and constantly having something to do are just a few problems people battle with on a daily basis. Many long for more time and freedom and yet this feels unattainable for some. Fear not, we have found a solution that might please those who need a little more out of life. Available from the TCIM website: Time, Freedom and Silence are just few of the wide selection of lifestyle ingredients available for consumption. So what are you waiting for? Your new life awaits you. See the recipe on how to make a delicious and mouth–watering minimalist lifestyle. You can thank us later.
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LIFE IN A CAN Minimalism is not a radical lifestyle– it’s a tool to rid yourself of the unnecessary stuff and live a meaningful life – a life with happiness, freedom and heightened consciousness. By incorporating just a few of our ‘Life in a Can’ meals into your diet you ‘Can’ focus on the important parts of life whilst stripping away the bad excess.
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THE PERFECT MINIMALIST LIFE Serves 1 •
415g Freedom
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400g Quiet
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220g Time
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80g Simplicity
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3tbs Silence
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Salt
•
Pepper
Preheat the oven to 190C. Peel, halve and deseed the quiet and simplicity, cut into 1.5cm chunks and arrange on a large roasting tin. Trickle over 2 tablespoons of the freedom and season well with salt and pepper. Toss so that the quiet is well coated and put into the oven to roast. Meanwhile, divide the time lengthways into 6 or 8 wedges. After 15 minutes, add the silence to the roasting tin and toss with the simplicity and quiet. Roast for 20 minutes or so, until the ingredients are soft and starting to caramelise around the edges. Then scatter over a little more silence and reduce for 8-10 minutes. By the end, the lifestyle should be tender and caramelised, and the frugality lightly toasted and fragrant. If you want to serve this as a cold lifestyle, let the ingredients cool completely and refrigerate. If you’re serving it warm, minimalism can a enjoyed straight from the oven.
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- confucius
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STEP 1 Preheat the oven to 190C. Peel, halve and deseed the quiet and simplicity, cut into 1.5cm chunks and arrange on a large roasting tin. Trickle over 2 tablespoons of the freedom and season well with salt and pepper. Toss so that the quiet is well coated and put into the oven to roast. Meanwhile, divide the time lengthways into 6 or 8 wedges.
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STEP 2 After 15 minutes, add the silence to the roasting tin and toss with the simplicity and quiet. Roast for 20 minutes or so, until the ingredients are soft and starting to caramelise around the edges. Then scatter over a little more silence and reduce for 8-10 minutes.
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STEP 3 By the end, the lifestyle should be tender and caramelised, and the frugality lightly toasted and fragrant. If you want to serve this as a cold lifestyle, let the ingredients cool completely and refrigerate. If you’re serving it warm, minimalism can a enjoyed straight from the oven.
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THE MINIMALIST SOLUTION The Minimalist IV Therapy is the fusion of minimalist liquid substances directly into a vein; Intravenous therapy is used to correct life’s imbalances. Delivering a new lifestyle for those who long to be minimal. The minimalism solution travels through the veins attacking any of life’s excess you may have consumed and leaves you with a healthier and happier lifestyle. The solution will help program the brain in a minimal way, making the process of counting your things a happy experience. At the end of the treatment, you will also start to think like a minimalist. Compared with other routes of administration the intravenous route is the fastest way to deliver the fluid throughout the body. Although this method is considerably more than the ‘Life in a Can’, (available on our online store) as stated above, this is the fastest method to achieving a minimalist lifestyle. See specialist for more details.
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FEED ME
INJECT ME
CHANGE ME
FREE ME
DOCTOR! DOCTOR!
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THE MINIMALIST FIRST AID KIT The Minimalist First Aid Kit is an effective way to leave behind your old life and join us in a world where everything is minimal. Starting with the Minimalist Relief Cream, squeeze 10cm of the cream from the tube and lightly rub into the forehead, until absorbed. The dose should not be repeated more than once daily, do not use for longer than seven days. If you don’t see results within five days then we are sorry, but you are an unsuitable candidate for a minimalist lifestyle. After you have completed your one–week Minimalist Relief Cream course, please use The Minimalist First Aid Kit provided to complete the final stages of transformation.
IT’S NICE TO CLEAR OUT A LITTLE CAVITY SPACE, SO
YOU CAN FOCUS ON THE ORGANS YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT! - REDDIT
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KISS IT BETTER PLASTER We know you’ll be giving up a lot of materialist
possession when you start your new journey. To help make it all better, we’ve provided a minimal kiss to help heal any pain you have experienced during your transformation.
THE CLEANSER Inside your Minimalist First Aid Kit you will find a selection of cleansing wipes, please use these to wipe away any left over ‘life’s excess residue’ you may still be carrying after your transformation.
WRAP IT AND HIDE IT BANDAGE It’s time to let go of your past life and start living your new one. You must hide any guilty pleasures visible on your body, anything that doesn’t make you minimal.
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PERCEPTION
(n) •
The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.
•
The way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted.
A LICK OF PAINT We love white, and white makes us happy but these photographs were taken to show you just how important other colours are. We eat with our eyes therefore food must always be visually appealing. With anything, once the familiar is taken away our perceptions are challenged. We felt this was particularly relevant with food and how it no longer felt appealing once it was coated in a layer of white paint.
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A NEW BOOK FOR YOU NOROM!
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THE RULES It’s finally here! Brought to you by Norom, The Rules of Minimalism is a book full of all the answers you’ve been waiting for. 100 delectable blank pages filled with the rules you need to follow in order to be minimal.
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KEEPING WHITE, WHITE To avoid those annoying stains on your sweatshirts, turn it inside out before digging into a big bowl of spaghetti arrabiata. It will keep those splatters hidden on the inside. To stop your whites turning into that sallow grey colour, all you need to do is, touch less. Stop opening doors with the side of your arm and don’t rest your wrists on counter tops. Simple.
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SO, ARE YOU IN?
OR ARE YOU OUT?
T. C.I.M THE CORPORATE IDENTITY OF MINIMALISM