The Minimalist art of the 1960s, produced by Robert Morris, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Carl Andre, and others, reduced art to its bare elements in reaction to the flamboyance of Abstract Expressionism. By paring down their materials, forms, and procedures, the... [more]

The Minimalist art of the 1960s, produced by Robert Morris, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Carl Andre, and others, reduced art to its bare elements in reaction to the flamboyance of Abstract Expressionism. By paring down their materials, forms, and procedures, the Minimalists arrived at the skeletal elements of art that preexist the artist's personal touch. Frequently criticized for being too cerebral and unapproachable, Minimalist art has also been celebrated for its unprecedented immediacy. It achieves this immediacy through abstract form, absence of decorative detail, and emphasis on geometry. The focus on pure form, as exemplified in Donald Judd's work, represents an effort to escape the notion that artists wield complete aesthetic control over their work. Andre, Flavin, and Morris explored another side of Minimalism, which involved presenting raw materials and found objects as art. There existed a certain tension between these two schools, and each spawned a separate theory. Unlike Judd, who asserted that the intellect is the determinant in people and art, Morris and others felt that viewers' bodily awareness informs their appreciation of and interaction with works of art. Whether experiencing art through the mind or through the body, Minimalists came together in addressing the critical purpose of art. In stripping away all excesses of form and emotion from their work, Minimalist artists were essentially negating the consumerist culture and materialism of the society around them. They were telling their viewers to find meaning and purpose through intellectual and physical contemplation, not through exploring the profane world. With Minimalist art there was a poignant change in the authority of the artistic voice, a shift toward greater balance and moral accountability in art. [show less]