After thinking I have to find my unique style as an artist just like Rothko did, Pollock did, and Josef Albers did, I feel that my true self is to embrace all the styles I explore. I study art daily and spend way more time doing it that my friends or family might imagine. This is "my secret life" perhaps.
What does continually draw me in, however, is minimalism. It fits with my true self and parallels my meditation life which I do for 30 minutes twice a day following Father Keating's advice. The goal is to find inner stillness through a process of emptying out all of the garbage that has lodged itself inside. This crosses the intersecting boundaries of body, mind and soul. Father Keating explains this process much more eloquently than I just did.
One of my very favorite pieces of art that I have ever done hangs on my wall near this laptop computer which I am now typing upon. It is also one of the most minimalist pieces I have ever done, of three stacked boxes in metallics on white paper, size 18x24". It is a completely original design. It is simple geometry. I have reproduced it only twice on smaller canvases, though I did the original design five years ago. The third time was just this month. After doing it, I looked at the rest of my art and it all looked like rubbish. It all looked messy and unnecessary. Which reminds me of the famous quote by Thomas Aquinas very late in his life, “I can write no more. All that I have written seems like straw.” Writing and art creation have many things in common. We all remember what Jack Kerouac said, too, "One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple." And, E. B. White said it like this, "Use the smallest word that does the job." Also, during these top decades of minimalism, the Beatles had a pretty simple message in song: "Let it be", "Give peace a chance", and "All we need is love." In another area of study, mathematicians and physicists tell us that there is beauty in simplicity, and they seek to find an elegant simple equation which explains everything. Though many of them have made statements along this line, I'll use Albert Einstein's "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler" as an example. The genius, Leonardo da Vinci, said "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
As a dedicated spiritual seeker, I have a fascination with Near Death Experiences and have heard or read hundreds of them. At the core, the messages are so simple -- that we are here to love and be of service to others, that time is an illusion, and that we are all one. Some near death experiencers describe an endpoint that is tranquilly simple, like this one great example, well worth a listen. I like to think that minimalist art takes you to the void, the place which is peaceful and restful. It is "Zen".
Though the art viewer at a prestigious art museum will often make a comment about minimalist art, "I could do that", the thought process behind that minimalist art is often quite complex. Many who produce the work were quite accomplished artists prior to settling upon their minimalist style. Some, like Rothko and Albers, use color to convey emotions while others produce white paintings or very pastel art, like Agnes Martin. The light paints are more ethereal, while the colored ones are earthy and grounded.
My love of Asian brushstroke ink painting aligns itself with the minimalist esthetic. After a recent stint exploring modern abstract Asian style and studying Chen Jialing's body of work, I am back to minimalist geometry. Jialing is a minimalist, mainly using the symbolic lotus plant in his work. Earlier this year, I also studied and imitated Agnes Martin, and following that, I came up with a series I called "24 circles" which I am not yet done pursuing. It is not easy measuring out the symmetrical placement of 24 circles on a surface, but I so enjoy the challenge.
The great minimalism in art period was during the 1950s and 1960s. I created several Pinterest boards of 1950s art because, overall, it is my favorite historical decade of art. Once, I thought how much I might enjoy producing an art history book documenting art produced that decade.
The challenge for me in producing minimalist art is making the piece to be in balance, in harmony, and peaceful. Yes, it must install calm and inner peace. That, to me, is the goal. I express my inner peace, and the viewer feels inner peace when looking at it.
Next, are three great, short videos explaining art minimalism in different ways:
2. Understanding Minimalism by E Gibbons (2 minutes):
3. All White Paintings by Vox (6 minutes):
In the videos above, we are told that minimalist art is simple, bold, elegant, pristine and has no distractions. It is focused. It is formal. Like a black square with crackle paint. Perhaps it is an electric color. We can meditate upon the art. It is about the form. It is elegant, like a simple poem. There may be only one art element that directs our focus. Minimalism in art might be compared to a Japanese dry garden of raked rocks. The viewer can become one with the subject. Minimalism art communicates to us on a simple level, so simple that it is beautiful.
Some art examples:
- White on white by Kashmir Malevich 1918
- Agnes Martin, White Stone
- Jo Baer, Untitled (white square lavender)
- Josef Albers, Study for homage to the square
The 1950s, and also 60s, were the years of art Minimalism. This minimalist movement prioritized order, simplicity, and harmony. It began as a rejection of abstract expressionism. In principle, the art should be as far removed from the author as possible. About it, Frank Stella said, "What you see, is what you see." Minimalist art is more about the idea than the skill. According to Ryman, "It is not about what you paint but how you paint it" For those viewers who say "I could have done it", the art expert answers, "Yes you could do it, but you didn't."
By your emotional response from looking at a white painting, you may learn about yourself. The universal is created, but what might speak to a specific type of person is stripped away. The art is giving you a mirror.