Minimalism is an extreme form of abstract art developed in the USA in the 1960s and typified by artworks composed of simple geometric shapes based on the square and the rectangle. Minimalism or minimalist art can be seen as extending the abstract idea that art should have its own reality and not be an imitation of some other thing. We usually think of art as representing an aspect of the real world (a landscape, a person, or even a tin of soup!); or reflecting an experience such as an emotion or feeling. With minimalism, no attempt is made to represent an outside reality, the artist wants the viewer to respond only to what is in front of them. The medium, (or material) from which it is made, and the form of the work is the reality. Imi Knoebel’s minimalist hybrids of painting and sculpture explore relationships between color and structure. Knoebel studied under Joseph Beuys, but drew formative influence from Kasimir Malevich in his consistent return to the square and reductive use of color. While his early pieces were black and white, as in the series “Linienbildern” (Line Paintings) (1966-69), he began to explore vibrant, saturated color in 1974 with his friend and classmate Blinky Palermo, to whom he would dedicate “24 Farben für Blinky” (“24 Colors for Blinky”) (1977), a series of brightly colored irregular shapes. Knoebel also worked in projection as a medium, though throughout these explorations he maintained his focus on the square and the grid as central elements.
The students were introduced to the idea of minimalist art through use and implementation of the basic elements of art like line, color and shape into an art piece. Students were provided with popsicle sticks of different sizes and a square piece of cardboard as a base for their minimalist work of art. The students worked on their painting skills as well as their composition building while finding the best way to implement the elements of art: line - popsicle sticks, shape - cardboard piece and color - paint; into a nice and meaningful piece of art.
Participants: ​Constance Li, Daniel Li, Ellie Hsu, Emersyn Kim, Katy Peng, Khalil Soong,
Matthew Wang, Lucas Liu, Mason Yu, Nicole Hon, Oscar Xu, Richard Li, Ruby Qian, Sunny Wang, Tasia Ng, Vance Ng, Yibu (Dylan) Dou, Zoey Chieng