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minimalism

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

minimalism schools of contemporary art and music, with their origins in the 1960s, that have emphasized simplicity and objectivity.

Minimalism in the Visual Arts

Reacting against the formal excesses and raw emotionalism of abstract expressionism , the practitioners of minimal art (also sometimes called ABC art) strove to focus attention on the object as an object, reducing its historical and expressive content to the bare minimum. Many minimalist artists were sculptors concerned with reducing form to its utmost simplicity. They used flat surface colors, factory finishes, and industrial materials. The use of serial repetitions contributed to their goal. Artists such as Carl Andre , Sol LeWitt , Robert Morris , Richard Serra , Donald Judd , and Dan Flavin were associated with the movement. The exhibition "Primary Structures," held in New York in 1966, spotlighted works of this school. Minimalism gave rise to process art, land art , performance art , conceptual art , and installation art.

Minimalism in Music

In music, the minimalist movement was, like minimal art, a reaction against a then-current form, with composers rejecting many of the dry intellectual complexities and the emotional sterility of serial music and other modern forms. Generally, minimalist compositions tend to emphasize simplicity in melodic line and harmonic progression, to stress repetition and rhythmic patterns, and to reduce historical or expressive reference. The use of electronic instruments is common in minimalist music, as are influences from Asia and Africa. Among prominent minimalist composers are Philip Glass , Steve Reich , Terry Riley, La Monte Young, and John Adams .

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Minimalism

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture | 2000 | | Copyright

Minimalism. Style inspired by severe Modern architecture (such as the purest of Mies van der Rohe's work or the bare images of Barragán's designs), traditional Japanese architecture, and Zen Buddhist gardens. Minimalism seeks to avoid clutter, ornament, and even colour, while possessions were stored away. It has sometimes been adopted to suggest exclusiveness and luxury. A feature of the Modern Movement since the 1920s, it re-emerged in the 1960s and 1980s (e.g. the works of Herzog & De Meuron, Holl, Isozaki, Maki, Siza, and Ungers, among others).

Bibliography

Pawson (1996);
A. Tate & and C. R. Smith (1986);
Toy (ed.) (1994)

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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Minimalism." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Minimalism." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-Minimalism.html

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Minimalism." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-Minimalism.html

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minimalism

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music | 1996 | | Copyright

minimalism. Term applied to style of mus. which began in 1960s involving repetition of short musical motifs in a simple harmonic idiom. The minimum of material is repeated to maximum hypnotic effect, much like some oriental mus. Its practitioners are called minimalists, prominent among whom are Philip Glass, Terry Riley, and Steve Reich. The case of John Adams is more complex.

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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "minimalism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "minimalism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-minimalism.html

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "minimalism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-minimalism.html

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minimalism

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

minimalism Trend in musical composition, beginning in the 1960s, in which short melodic or rhythmic fragments are repeated in gradually shifting patterns, usually in a simple harmonic context. The repetitive patterns of Indian and other non-Western music influenced many minimalist composers, such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass.

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"minimalism." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-minimalism.html

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