By Sam Verma
You’ve seen it before. You’ve seen the bare rooms, scintillatingly white, with a white hotel-room bed with a thick duvet (white, of course) and the only cut of colour is brown, hardly any furniture or décor hangs around. Minimalism is a highly debated and misunderstood topic. Minimalism isn’t rigid and it varies from person to person. Minimalism isn’t about having a pure white room, it is individualistic, and not having a pure white room doesn’t make a person less of a minimalist. To some having a pure white room signifies complete control over their life and being clean and organized, and well some just like a splash of colour which does not imply their lack of understanding of the term “minimalism”. On a more logical note, having a pure white room is not toddler friendly nor is it economical, but to each their own.
So, what really is Minimalism? Today, there are people that are famous on Instagram for their minimalist lifestyle and décor, minimalist designs are frequent in décor magazines and in pop culture. To make this expansive topic simpler, we’ll go through all of the fields on which it exerts an influence.
Minimalism first arose as art in the 1950s-1960s, and while there’s no clear answer about who started the movement, visionaries like Frank Stella set the ball rolling, whose Black Paintings were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1959.
Minimalist art can be understood as the abstract idea extending to have it’s own reality and not an imitation of some other thing.
There are no subliminal messages, the artist displays reality in its purest form. Even the amount of medium, technique and objects used were kept to the minimum. The resulting work is characterised by extreme simplicity of form and a deliberate lack of expressive content. The overall concept is to produce artworks devoid of unnecessary elements, but still produce an outcome with essential art quality.
The famous minimalist painter Frank Stella fittingly said about his art, “What you see is what you see.”
The art movement was actually a huge movement given that the movement before it was Abstract art, which separates itself from reality completely and solely is painted using emotions. So, the movement in itself was actually groundbreaking because artists focused only on the medium and the art, and being extremely radical because it challenged pre-existing structures of making, viewing, and understanding art. Frank Stella’s work inspired many others like Robert Morris and Carl Andre to name a few.
Today, cosmetic firms purposely make their products look minimalistic, for instance The Ordinary or The Face Shop, two very different cosmetic companies. The Ordinary is US based company whose popularity is growing rapidly due to their sustainable means, no-nonsense marketing and their affordable prices. On the other hand, with the rising popularity of Korean culture like music and food, their skincare is also being embraced with the rise of many standalone Korean beauty shops coming up around the world. There’s something about a simple covering, hardly any excessive writing and soft tones of colour. Minimalism in design is popular because it is less cluttered, and easier to digest. Consumers do not like information overload, and when packaging has too much going on, it is too much for most people to digest in a short period of time.
It is important to understand the appeal of minimalism as an art because it today transcended from being merely an exhibit at the Met to something that people are opting as their lifestyle. So, why the sudden shift in lifestyle? Due to globalisation and the ease of learning about a completely different culture miles away from your desk, it’s no surprise the world was mystified by the Japanese way of living. The Japanese had already opted for a minimalist lifestyle centuries back, influenced by a religion that took over Japan fairly early in its history, Buddhism. Buddhism has a very important aspect to it which is Zen. Zen preaches that one should listen to their intuition, rather than being influenced by scriptures or rituals. Japanese aesthetic is going against modern consumerism, living an uncluttered life. The simplicity and ascetic principles influence all aspects of Japanese life.
On the other hand,culture critic Kyle Chayka says, “I think the internet and social media and the financial crisis is what really caused the super popularity of minimalism this time around.”
As globalization knits the world closer, the western world absolutely loved the idea of your home being the start of self improvement, and a mirror to reflect one’s control over their attachment to objects. Today, there are people that are famous on Instagram for their minimalist lifestyle and décor, minimalist designs are frequent in décor magazines and in pop culture.
As globalization knits the world closer, the western world absolutely loved the idea of your home being the start of self improvement, and a mirror to reflect one’s control over their attachment to objects. Today, there are people that are famous on Instagram for their minimalist lifestyle and décor, minimalist designs are frequent in décor magazines and in pop culture.
Minimalism doesn’t have any rules but it does have some key components that complete the concept. Minimalism is pushing people to take control over their lives and live consciously. Minimalism doesn’t come easy because it means throwing out that childhood set of Lego, that one Hotwheels car whose wheels aren’t even on or that old shirt with holes in it that you love it's reminiscent of your childhood. Why? Minimalism states that you shouldn’t hoard or keep things that don’t have any actual value, because you don’t really need them. In actuality, even staunch minimalists admit it is hard giving away certain things and that’s alright, when you narrow down the amount you have, you appreciate them more and instead of being packed away, they might even get a special spot in your household. Minimalism is intentionally living with things you need, things that support your purpose because you can remove distractions that disable you from focusing on things that matter the most.
Minimalism makes sense in this day and age, where we are surrounded by marketing schemes and temptations from the second we step out of our house to when we scroll through our phones. Modern culture has subconsciously built this mindset that happiness can be bought and it comes purely from accumulation of assets and strips away the priceless value of travel, experiences, memories and family.
Another thing about modern culture is something we talk about as a society very often, but hardly ever pinpoint it is that we wear a mask to suit different situations. We joke about it but it's true, we are different people in our workplace/school with different groups, with teachers, with strangers, with close friends, with family or when we are alone. By adopting minimalism, you’re setting down a very simple life for yourself, with clarity of what matters to you and the lost meaning of a stress free life. Minimalism with it’s slower and calmer pace will naturally tune you to consume less, enjoy more.
The ever growing popularity of minimalism seems to be supported by the fact that unemployment rates are at a high and it’s not easy for every person just starting off in the real world to splurge. There are bills and mortgage to pay, food to buy and education to get while also focusing on being as financially stable and healthy. Minimalism comforts those who are unable to buy things on a whim, and sets them on a much healthier path. Minimalism is also environment friendly, because minimalists believe that if they do need to buy something, they should opt for the best quality as they won’t need to buy the same thing again for a long time, for example a sturdy pair of hiking boots or a coffee machine. You also come to appreciate the product more, take care of it better and become more conscious of your expenditure. Minimalism encourages lesser consumption which leads to lesser waste, all while being mindful. In a time where the future of our environment is at stake, it’s no surprise that minimalism has become so popular. Focusing on what’s important is a pretty good plus side too.
Lastly, just for some extra reference, so here are a few instagram pages you can check out so that you can expose yourself to more content! Firstly, I have to mention @saarmanche, @milkdecoration_magazine @minimalismlife
So give minimalism a shot, stay inspired, there’s no harm in trying and hopefully it may just be what you were looking for !
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