Minimalism uses basic and minimal elements.
Minimalism is an artistic movement that only uses minimal and basic elements . By extension, in everyday language, minimalism is associated with everything that has been reduced to the essential and that does not present any excess or accessory element .
For example: “I would like to implement minimalism in the decoration of my home” , “The Swedish artist is one of the greatest references of minimalism in contemporary painting” , “I don't like minimalism, I prefer baroque ornamentation and full of details”. ” .
Creating meaning from the minimum
The intention of minimalism, therefore, is to generate meaning from the minimum. This requires simplifying the elements used, appealing to simple language, pure colors and simple lines.
The English philosopher Richard Wollheim ( 1923 – 2003 ) is identified as the person responsible for coining the concept of minimalism, in reference to the works of the North American Ad Reinhardt and the Frenchman Marcel Duchamp .
Experts maintain that, as an artistic trend, minimalism emerged in the 1960s from an economy of means, the use of abstraction , functional and structural purism, austerity and synthesis .
The commitment to simplicity is the basis of minimalism.
Pioneers of minimalism
Painters and sculptors were the first to turn to minimalism, such as Reinhardt , Donald Judd , Dan Flavin and Robert Mangold . Later, minimalism spread to architecture (the De Stijl movement ) and music, among other areas.
Minimalism is also reflected in a philosophy or way of life that proposes dedicating yourself to what is important and discarding everything unnecessary as a path to achieving personal fulfillment.
The concept in music
Minimalist music is known as a genre that originated in North America in the 1960s, classified as experimental, which is based on the use of constant pulses, slow transformations, consonant harmony, static elements and generally uses small musical phrases that are repeated.
Despite the interest it aroused in many American composers, only four of them achieved notoriety through musical minimalism: Philip Glass, Terry Riley, Steve Reich and La Monte Young. Among the European musicians who achieved relevant minimalist creations are Yann Tiersen, Louis Andriessen, Steve Martland and Wim Mertens.
Characteristics of musical minimalism
Minimalist music design recognizes some common typologies, according to American professor and composer Kyle Eugene Gann, which are set out below:
* static harmony : refers to the tendency not to change chords, or to retrograde or direct movement within a group of chords;
* short repeated motifs : without a doubt, the most characteristic feature of minimalism in music. Some examples are Tony Conrad's violin improvisations and Young's sine tone ;
*static rhythm : usually motorized, although sometimes simply reduced to a moderate repertoire of temporal durations;
* static instrumentation : more than one instrument sounds at the same time, executing the same melody, unlike writing where all the lines complement each other and form a drawing that is impossible to represent if any of them are missing;
* Metamusic : this term refers to certain details that have not been planned and that grow or are amplified, as if it were a collateral effect. This can be seen in some works by Octet and Reich Drumming;
* oriental elements : in compositions by Glass, Young and Riley, for example, a notable influence of music from India can be found, while in Reich's creations elements of African music can be perceived;
* purity of the song : the essence of the song is distilled, it does not hide details and many times no lexical meaning is appreciated. However, the rhythm and repetition of motifs stand out.