W E L C OM E TO
MINIMALISM C R E A T E D B Y M A T T L I N D S AY
As the title suggests, this short book is about the roots of twenty first century Minimalism. We will explore the main influences and inspirations that have been pulled together from the numerous unique and diverse movements that have, and still do, develop around the globe. From 18th century Japanese Interior design, to the sophisticated approach of Architects like Van der Rohe, to 1917 Holland to explore Neoplasticism under the De Stijl movement “Understanding Minimalism In The Twenty First Century� will explore how each movement has and does tie together into the Minimalism movement we see around us today.
WHAT IS MINIMALISM A BRIEF OVERVIEW
The main purpose of this short book is not to educate you on the contemporary Minimalism art movement and what it entails today, but is aimed at the history of the movement and how it has formed modern day Minimalism. That being said, to help refresh the memory of our readers, we will explain our definition of minimalism and will point out the various aspects we will be covering. Minimalism, as explained by A Smith (2013), is a movement that is achieved through the purity of simplicity and unity. Laid out by Battcock, Gregory (ed.), you will discover that Minimal Art emerged as a recognised movement in the 1950s and was at its strongest throughout the sixties and seventies. As it developed, it was recognised as a way to describe painting, architecture, sculpture and illustrations that feature simplicity in form, content and layout. The aim was to introduce a style that would portray it’s message and art whilst allowing the viewer to focus on the composition more intensely, rather than being distracted by minor unnecessary elements.
“De Stijl”
a k a N E O P LAC T I C I S M
Firstly, we will study the De Stijl (also known as Neoplasticism) movement. To do this we must cast our minds back to 1917 Holland where a brand new Dutch art movement was emerging. De Stijl, or “The Style” in Dutch, is a movement normally described to advocate “pure abstraction and universality by a reduction to the essentials of form and colour” (Unknown. (2013)). Essentially, the movement simplified all visual components into only the vertical and horizontal planes and limited all elements to black, white, grey and primary colours. As an independent movement, De Stijl was heavily influenced by Traditional Geometry, Cubism and Mysticism. However it itself was a influence for a lot of art movements, some of the lesser movements include Bauhaus and the international style of architecture. However, as collected by Oleg Mokhov (2011), modern day minimalism was deeply influenced by the Horizontal, Vertical and straight lines that were introduced in excess in the De Stijl movement, this is arguably the biggest recognizable trait that minimalism has today. The muted, grey-scale colour scheme that can appear in some minimalism designs today, along with the use of primary colours you see very regularly today. In addition to these, in modern day minimalism a lot of the elements in any design are very independent and do nor cover or interfere with other elements.
Van Der Rohe
a k a L U D W I G M I E S VA N D E R R O H E
Secondly, we will be talking about Van Der Rohe, or “Ludwig Mies van der Rohe”. Van Der Rohe is largely recognised as a pioneer within the Architecture community, he produced ground breaking designs within the Modernism art movement(Unknown B., 2103). As an artist, he rejected the eclectic and cluttered classic styles that were made so common in the 12th century, instead aiming to create a style that was more relevant to the modern times. After World War 1, progressive thinkers were calling for a brand new architectural style and design process that featured more rational problem solving and expression of new materials and innovate structure rather than “superficial application of classical façades”. Van Der Rohe then started to develop his ideas around the understanding and problem solving of ideas, problems and situations from critics and creative minds. He selected to follow the ideals of Russian Constructivism, following a much more “efficient” ideology. Explained by Oleg Mokhov, Van de Rohe strived for simplicity and clarity. His architecture style impacted modern day minimalism by his use of modern materials (metals, plastics, glass etc) and how he used these materials in a minimal structural framework that included lots of open space.
Traditional Japanese Culture C U LT U R E , D E S I G N AN D A R C H IT E C T U R E
Finally, and maybe the most important and influential art culture that we will explore is Traditional Japanese Design, and by extension, traditional Japanese culture. Described by O. Mokhov, adding what’s needed and removing the rest is a common theme that runs throughout all forms of Japanese culture. If you take a look back at some more traditional architecture, interior and exterior, you will discover that the designs are very clean, very concise, with very simple and effective colour schemes and design decisions. There is a direct connection between the culture and design in Japan, the Japanese culture is very much related to Simplicity and relaxation, with all un-eeded activity and substance cut out of regular routine. Everything is designed with movement, freedom, comfort, durability and efficiency. Naturally, this is the perfect breeding ground for minimalism inspiration, and that’s why modern day designers will use this culture as a reference, rather that looking into most traditional European culture.
This concludes this short book about the main influences of minimalism, we have explored the main influences of modern day minimalism, hopefully this book has helped enlighten you, the reader, about the various different sources and cultures that have gone into such a wildly popular and visually simplistic movement. We hope that we have helped identify some sources you can use for inspiration when designing your own projects or fuelled you to move onto looking at art history on a broader scale! -Matt
BIBLIOGRAPHY MY R E F E R E N C E S
A. Smith (2013). Introduction to the History of Minimalism. Available: http://www.arthistory.net/ artstyles/minimalism/minimalism1.html. Last accessed 14th Jun 2013. Battcock, Gregory (ed.). Minimal Art: A Critical Anthology. Unknown. (2013). De Stijl. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Stijl. Last accessed 14th Jun 2013. Unknown B.. (2013). Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_ Mies_van_der_Rohe. Last accessed 14th Jun 2013. Oleg Mokhov. (2011). Minimalist Design: A Brief History and Practical Tips. Available: http:// spyrestudios.com/minimalist-design-a-brief-history-and-practical-tips/. Last accessed 14th Jun 2013 Front /back cover image - http://s1.goodfon.com/image/358170-3835x2848.jpg Content page - http://danbeckephotography.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/p8090054.jpg The Stijl - http://unobike.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/dscn33351.jpg Van Der Rohe - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Mies_van_der_Rohe_ photo_ Farnsworth_House_Plano_USA_9.jpg