Singson, Chaelvin Freian, G.

January 29, 2020

Sta. Cruz, Samuel Soc Sci 100 MTh1:30-2:30
Manzon, Mary Shantel

“Minimalism”
I. Definition and Description: A style or technique that is characterized by
extreme spareness and simplicity. Aesthetically, minimalist art offers a highly
purified form of beauty. It can also be seen as representing such qualities as
truth, order, simplicity and harmony. It’s quiet simple: to be a minimalist you
must live with less things than others could have. When you call a person
minimalist, you’re describing their interest in keeping things very simple.
II. Brief history: Minimalism emerged in the late 1950s when artists such as
Frank Stella, whose Black Paintings were exhibited at the Museum of Modern
Art in New York in 1959, began to turn away from the gestural art of the
previous generation. It flourished in the 1960s and 1970s with Carl Andre,
Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Agnes Martin and Robert Morris
becoming the movement’s most important innovators.

The development of minimalism is linked to that of conceptual art (which also

flourished in the 1960s and 1970s). Both movements challenged the existing
structures for making, disseminating and viewing art and argued that the
importance given to the art object is misplaced and leads to a rigid and elitist
art world which only the privileged few can afford to enjoy.
III.
Proponents Contribution
Carl Andre Last Ladder 1959
Frank Stella Hyena Stomp 1962
Donald Judd Untitled 1972

IV. References:
 https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/minimalism
 https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/minimalist
 https://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/arts/visual/american-
canadian/minimalism/minimalism-in-the-visual-arts