Minimalism Across Art, Architecture, and Culture

All flashcards

What is visual minimalism?

An art approach that reduces visual elements and expressive gestures, emphasizing the work’s physical form and the viewer’s direct encounter with it.

When and where did the specific visual minimalist movement emerge?

It emerged in New York in the early 1960s.

What are common features of minimalist painting?

Hard edges, linear lines, simple forms, and an emphasis on the two-dimensional surface.

What materials are often used in minimalist sculpture?

Industrial materials such as metal, aluminum, plastic, concrete, and fiberglass, often left raw or painted a solid color.

Why did Michael Fried use the term literalist critically?

He argued that minimalist art emphasized literal objecthood and depended on a spectator and setting, rather than offering a more-than-literal experience through metaphor, symbolism, or stylization.

Quiz questions

1. In which city and period did the visual minimalist movement emerge?Answer: New York in the early 1960s
2. Which art movement did visual minimalism partly develop in response to?Answer: Abstract Expressionism
3. Which architect is associated with geometric forms, concrete or wood, and carefully directed light?Answer: Tadao Ando
4. What did Michael Fried mean by describing a minimalist work as an “object in a situation”?Answer: Its experience depended on its setting and a spectator’s presence.
5. Which phrase is associated with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s architectural approach?Answer: “Less is more.”