The truth about minimalism and the modern ‘minimartist

 To be quite clear – minimalism is the bitch of all the art forms there are. Not only has it usually gained the most attention by using the least detail… The ‘clean’ feel of anything under the humongous slogan of minimart is based on everything other in the world. The enjoyers of minimalism (and there are a hell of a lot of them) are tired of the ‘colorful warfare’ out there, so they seek for a relief for their tired eyes. Completely clean colors, drawings and even text, literally supported by every overused thing there is in the world. Now that’s the ultimate outsourcing.

 The ‘man behind the canvas’ is something of the same, but different kind. Although they have the ability to use the least physical materials/work to make something look profound, the thought behind the process needs to be as clear as possible. The truth is that minimalism is not a free-pass for creating something original. It’s not something with the least elements possible, no composition, color schemes or a thought behind it. I mean – it’s still an art form, isn’t it? It can be bad, it has its’ rules to fit in and the dos and don’ts. It still needs talent, work and education both to create and rate. The truth is – sometimes it can take even more time and effort than something that may look very visually detailed and colorful. Take a look at the most of the classic minimalists out there – Rothko for instance created layers, layers and layers of paint to create the powerful feeling of the visual force, a composition of color can raise. His works are the complete maximalism of the feeling, somehow fitted in the slogan of minimalism. And that satisfies me the most. You see - ideas have a certain style, direction and feel to it and usually have a complete ‘antonym’ to them – for instance the before mentioned minimalism and maximalism. Two completely unrelated ways of thinking, related with the thickest bond possible.

 To understand this perfectly, we must get to the roots. A work of art can present different ways of enjoyment – classic oil paintings were a satisfaction to both eyes and soul, as the huge body of work, immense details and realistic scenes presented the emotion the artist had intended to present. The work, put in the making of the painting, simply shone through the canvas, giving you the indescribable feel of profound quality. The modern movement of street art, particularly the people I like to call ‘intellectual street artists’ (By this I mean the people who present a certain thought through the painting on the wall, not just the before mentioned feeling of liking the painting because of the composition, colors etc etc – Banksy, for instance) present a different completely different mind satisfaction. Art is now used as the weapon to strike the minds of the citizens, presenting thoughts through the least materials possible.

 Because of that, minimalism is vital for people like Banksy, Mobstr and many others, including the street art persona I’m trying to become. This kind of art doesn’t need immense details or rich colour palette to support its’ needs. Street art can now present the thought that needs to be provoked, thus actual physical detail becomes useless. And that right there was the ‘why’ that called me into stenciling in the first place. The innovation of this paradox was the thing I was searching for.

 But again – art has too many subfolders to choose from and the options of how to present the chosen style. Creating minimalism can not ask for actual manpower, as it may need very less of the elements a classic painting deserves. So, if used correctly, it can be a simple work of mind. I could spent hours of developing ideas, reshaping them and making them sound, look, feel and think great. I love the moment when a sentence carries the thought from one person to another, maintaining the clear thought the artist had put in it. It’s awesome to see people interpreting the idea to their own understanding, getting out something completely different from it, than I had wanted them to get. And minimalism is the only way to do it. For an idea to travel from person to person, it needs to be as clear as possible, both physically and mentally. It needs to be clear, unharmed by the colourful warfare out there. That’s just the most effective way to do it.

 But really – art has been deconstructed enough by the people too lazy to actually create it. It doesn’t need a why to create, creativity is never about the reason. Emotions don’t need to be explained to make them work. They just need to be out there, on the walls for people to see them, feel them and think them. We just need more art.

[bli:p]