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Minimalism Facts & Worksheets

Minimalism is an art movement that began in post – World War II art, in the 1960s and early 1970s.

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Minimalism is an art movement that began in post – World War II art, in the 1960s and early 1970s. It is also called “minimal art,” “literalist art,” and “ABC Art.”

See the fact file below for more information on the Minimalism or alternatively, you can download our 19-page Minimalism worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

DEVELOPMENT OF MINIMALISM

  • The minimalists believed that action painting – an abstract painting in which paint is randomly splashed, thrown, or poured on the canvas – was too personal and insubstantial. They adopted the point of view that a work of art should not refer to anything other than itself.
  • With the use of the simple geometric form and the linear approach, minimalism was intended to emphasize two-dimensionality and to allow the viewer an immediate, purely visual response.
  • It then emerged in the late 1950s beginning with Frank Stella’s Black Paintings exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1959.

MINIMALISM AND THE ARTISTS

  • Minimalism is characterised by single or repeated geometric forms and it is usually three- dimensional.
  • It also showed lack of expression; with little trace of emotion or intuitive decision making, little about the artist is revealed in the work.
  • Minimalist art also does not refer to anything beyond its literal presence. The materials used are not worked to suggest something else.
  • Some materials used, especially in sculptures, are often factory manufactured or materials such as bricks or tiles and fluorescent bulbs purchased from a hardware store.
  • Minimalist art engages with the space it occupies. A sculpture is arranged to emphasise the architecture of the gallery; presented on walls, in corners, or onto the floor to encourage the viewer to be conscious of the space.

MINIMALISM AND THE ARTISTS

  • In painting, prominent artists who popularized minimalism are Nassos Daphnis, Frank Stella, Kenneth Noland, Al Held, Ellsworth Kelly, and Robert Ryman among others.
  • In sculpture, the works of David Smith, Anthony Caro, Tony Smith, Sol LeWitt, Carl Andre, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd and others promoted minimalism.
  • One minimalist pioneer is Frank Stella. He is one of the founding fathers of minimalism with his striped works and monumental prints.
  • Agnes Martin was known for grids as an organizational element to her paintings that blend together minimalism in her canvases with subtle colors.
  • Dan Flavin explored the artistic possibilities of fluorescent light, and centered his products to commercially available materials.
  • He and the other minimalist sculptures embraced the ideas of simple, monumental geometric forms made of fiberglass, plastic, sheet metal, or aluminum, either left raw or solidly painted with bright industrial colours.
  • Other minimal artists include: Robert Mangold, Larry Bell, Charles Hinman, Ronald Bladen, Paul Mogensen, David Novros, Brice Marden, Blinky Palermo, Mino Argento, Jo Baer, John McCracken, and Anne Truitt.
  • Michael Nyman coined the term “minimal music” around 1970 to describe compositions of Henning Christiansen, Charlotte Moorman and Nam June Paik.
  • Erik Satie, John Cage, La Monte Young, Morton Feldman among others added very little texture in their music and eliminated variation. Others also used simple harmonic and melodic patterns in their repetitive music.
  • In minimalist music, timbre and rhythm were explored and developed.
  • The concept applied in architecture is to concentrate its essential quality and achieve simplicity. Minimalists consider light, form, detail of material, space, place, and human condition.
  • In literature minimalism is characterized by the concise use of words and eliminating redundancy. Minimalist writers prefer allowing context to dictate meaning of their works.
  • In turn, the readers are expected to take an active role in creating the story by self concluding based on hints and innuendo, rather than react to directions from the writer.
  • Known minimalist writers include Raymond Carver, Ann Beattie, Bret Easton Ellis, Charles Bukowski, and Ernest Hemingway, among others.
  • Paul Schrader named these kinds of films “transcendental cinema” because they typically tell a simple story with straightforward camera usage and minimal use of score.
  • Filmmakers associated in minimalism are Robert Bresson, Carl Theodor Dreyer, and Yasujirō Ozu.
  • Technology – refers to the application of minimalist philosophies and principles in the design and use of hardware and software by designing systems that use the least hardware and software resources possible.
  • It is usually aimed to create simpler user interfaces by eliminating buttons and dialog boxes that may potentially confuse the user.

MINIMALISM OVER THE YEARS

  • In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, neo-minimalism was introduced using the aspects of “postmodern art.”
  • Postminimalism was also coined but it focuses mainly on music and the visual arts.
  • Its artworks are usually everyday objects, use simple materials, and sometimes take on a “pure,” formalist aesthetic.
  • In music it is generally using steady music with a diatonic pitch language and general evenness of dynamics are heard all throughout the music.

Minimalism Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Minimalism across 19 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Minimalism worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Minimalism which is an art movement that began in post – World War II art, in the 1960s and early 1970s. It is also called “minimal art,” “literalist art,” and “ABC Art.”

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Minimalism Facts
  • The Minimalist
  • Minimalist Art
  • Literary Minimalism
  • One Picture Story
  • Minimalist Photography
  • Minimalist Fashion
  • Minimalist Ad
  • Minimalist Interior Design
  • Digital Minimalism
  • My Minimalist Art

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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