Minimalist aesthetic art how to#
Minimalist aesthetic art driver#

Modern minimalism may have begun in the 20th Century, but the philosophy's roots reach far further back, some 2,500 years, and a self-determined figure called Diogenes ' the original nonconformist', according to William Stephens, professor emeritus of philosophy at Creighton University in the US.

Minimalist aesthetic art driver#

He adds: 'That concept of overlooked things is a big part of minimalism, which doesn't often happen now – it's 'Oh, I want to buy this Instagram sweater because it's minimalist'… that's not about looking at anything differently.' Instagram is a big driver in minimalism's increasing popularity, he says: 'The way it presents images and the blank white space is well suited to minimalist aesthetics.' His next book, on 'digital minimalism', will explore these ideas further. He is unhappy about 'this style some people have embraced of having just nothing and white walls and floors, it just becomes oppressive… like a new orthodoxy of total emptiness'. 'Throwing out all your stuff and earning less might seem to be a rebellion against consumerism, but it also becomes an orthodoxy again buy the right new things and follow the right austere aesthetic.' 'Where minimalism started in the art world was about finding beauty in unexpected things, such as in industrial materials, something that was previously ignored, and finding worth in them – not creating something that was totally blank and empty,' Chayka tells BBC Culture. Fine artists like Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Agnes Martin musical composers such as John Cage, Philip Glass and Julius Eastman and the designers, writers, architects and artists to whom the label has been applied. His 2020 book focuses on these origins and the 1960s cultural figures from which the movement takes its name: 'Minimalism with a capital M', as he puts it. With a background in art criticism, Chayka, who lives in New York, sees minimalism as having a deeper meaning and history than is generally recognised – one from the art world that signifies new beginnings, not necessarily a void of less. Kyle Chayka is the author of The Longing for Less: Living with Minimalism. The movement began in the US, and is gradually catching on elsewhere. Reacting against this is the 'tiny house' movement homes that are usually 40 sq m or less and are often self-built, reflecting a growing desire for reduced living costs and greater simplicity and freedom.

No wonder minimalism is a growth industry the 'stuff' mountain is getting bigger: the average US household owns 300,000 items and additional storage space is real estate's most active growth area. Their new book Love People, Use Things: Because the Opposite Never Works, defines their message, they say, and while decluttering is good, it's not all about having less: 'We focus on making room for more – time, peace, creativity, experiences, contentment, freedom.' But Millburn Fields and Nicodemus seem to genuinely believe in their mission to help 'people to live meaningful lives with less'. 'I was chasing the American dream,' says Nicodemus, 'until I realised it wasn't my dream'.Ĭritics point to the irony of The Minimalists' output, that it adds to the mountain of stuff – they have reached 20 million people, they say. In 2009, the boyhood friends saw the light that minimalism could shine on their stressed, high-earning executive lives, and the accumulation of possessions they admit acted as a distraction from their deep unhappiness and discontent. With her are Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, aka The Minimalists, who have made the study of material goods we own – and why – their life's work. Kondo is part of a new army who have marched on to the popular stage in the past decade banging the minimalism drum.

Minimalist aesthetic art how to#

Three ideas for how to live a fuller life Is it a profound philosophy, intended to make us reflect on the damage we're doing to the planet, like the artist Michael Landy's 2001 seminal project Break Down, in which he destroyed all his worldly goods? Or is it just about objects – what we own and what we discard – at the level of Marie Kondo, empress of organising, whose concept of 'sparking joy' through what we have around us has resonated to the tune of 11 million books sold on her Kon-Mari method. The term is now applied to innumerable philosophies, products or lifestyle choices, from a light-fitting design to the goal of owning fewer possessions or – the ultimate pared-down minimalism – monk-like asceticism.

For something that's all about reduction and 'less is more', there's an awful lot of it about.

Minimalism seems to be everywhere these days.