(cover image via Flickr.com/carlos78mx)
This week, we explore the notion that less is more as Minimalisms, yes, plural, is the focus of this Sunday Edition.
While most people may associate the term “Minimalism” to the modern art movement that originated in 1960s New York, the history of the design tendency for less is more global and multifaceted than many people may realize.
This week’s edition includes:
- A conversation with author Kyle Chayka about his new book, The Longing for Less: Living with Minimalism, his interest in the topic, what initiated this investigation, and what it all means for a style that is now being used to sell everything from smartphones to coffee
- Glenn Adamson dives into the Western perception that links Japanese art and culture with minimalism, he writes about a connection that is more myth than reality
- Kate Wagner, of McMansion fame, makes her writing debut on Hyperallergic by researching the “loft aesthetic” that emerged in 1970s New York, and has since taken over the world
- While we often think of minimalist tendencies in objects, artist Daniel Temkin examines how hackers are using “minimalism” in their code, and how it may expand our understanding of the term
- In terms of cinema, the minimalist tendency permeates many different genres but Dan Schindel noticed a particular strain that emerges in the work of nonfiction filmmakers who depict air travel
- In light of the Guggenheim Museum introducing a new term, “decommissioning,” to their collection lexicon, Peter J. Karol discusses the artwork by Donald Judd that created the need for the term
- And finally, Layla Passa reviews Chayka’s book and considers that “the truth of minimalism is that it is often just as materialistic as the bombastic high life it ostensibly counteracts.”
A huge thanks to editor Seph Rodney guest editor Rebecca Uchill, and our entire editorial team for their work and contributions to this issue.
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Enjoy this edition of Hyperallergic Sunday.
