Minimalism is a post-World War II visual arts movement that originated in New York City in the late 1950’s and early 60’s. Minimalism sprung about as a form of art to directly go against the Abstract Expressionism movement that had dominated the American avant-garde through the 1950’s and into the 70’s. To minimalist artists, the intuitive and spontaneous gestures of abstract expressionism was dissatisfying. They wanted to reduce their artwork down to the pure essence of what art can be; they believed that a work of art should not refer to anything other than itself. To achieve this, the artists attempted to rid their works of any extra-visual association. Famous minimalist painters and sculptors such as Donald Judd, Jack Youngerman, Carl Andre, Frank Stella, Kenneth Noland, Al Held, and Tony Smith attempted to make visual art through the use of the hard edge and linearity, rather than painterly approach. Largely renowned minimalist critic Michael Fried simply defined minimalism as such, “the culmination of reductionist tendencies in modern art.”
Donald Judd is a landmark figure in the history of postwar art. In the 1950s, he studied philosophy and art history and took classes at the Art Students League in New York. He was first publicly recognized as an art critic, writing reviews for Arts magazine from 1959–65. It was during this time that he developed from an abstract painter into the producer of the hollow, rectilinear volumes for which he became well known. Key to this transformation was his essay “Specific Objects,” written in 1964 and published the following year in Arts Yearbook 8. The text celebrated a new kind of artwork, different from the traditional frameworks of painting and sculpture, focusing instead on an investigation of “real space,” or three dimensions, using commercial materials and an emphasis on whole, unified shapes. The post-WWII era is when minimalism came about, so those with influence like Donald Judd shaped minimalism into what it first was. These minimalist artists like Judd of the WWII era removed themselves from abstract expressionism by removing suggestions of biography from their art. This denial of expression coupled with an interest in making objects that avoided the appearance of fine art led to the creation of sleek, geometric works that purposefully and radically eschew conventional aesthetic appeal.
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Photo above: This is a photograph of Donald Judd standing next to his iconic, minimalist sculpture, "Stack"
The post WWII era consequently overlaps with what is called the post-sputnik era. A "constructionist" approach led to the use of fabrication and industrial materials in preference to the craft techniques of traditional sculpture. The readymades of Marcel Duchamp were also inspirational examples of the employment of prefabricated materials. Based on these sources, Minimalists created works that resembled factory-built commodities and upended traditional definitions of art whose meaning was tied to a narrative or to the artist.
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The photo above depicts four of Marcel Duchamp's "readymade" objects, those of which greatly influenced minimalist artists.
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Renowned minimalist artist Frank Stella saw the "Russian constructionist" art pieces as "simple." Clement Greenburg, an influential modernist of the time was quoted with saying, "each medium and, indeed, each art form should be pure with no overlap with other media," an idea that is directly disputed by Stella's canvas/object and most Minimalists. Stella challenged the traditional dichotomy between painting and sculpture particularly those associated with Abstract Expressionism. Stella psinted a series of "Black Paintings" that was a bold counter-movement in the late 50's against the eminent Abstract expressionist painters. Die Fahne Hoch! (1959) is one of Stella's "black" paintings that received a lot of praise and criticism. The title, Die Fahne Hoch! translated into "Raise High the Flag" was the first words of the Nazi anthem. Stella denied any political connection to the painting or his belief. Some critics speculated Stella was forcing the viewer to see that the unframed, flat abstraction and would appear to be meaningless except for its title. Scholars have read the title as an example of Minimalists' often "in-your-face" artworks and their refusal to make works that are visually appealing. Instead forcing the viewer to confront works on a physical level. This was of course to counter the abstract expressionism relationship between viewer and art where the viewer simply admires the artwork in front of them.
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The photo above depicts Frank Stella's "Die Fahne Hoch!" which is a wildly famous piece that caused critics and fans alike to observe minimal art for what it is.
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