Postminimalism is an art term coined (as post-minimalism) by Robert Pincus-Witten in 1971 used in various artistic fields for work which is influenced by, or attempts to develop and go beyond, the aesthetic of minimalism. The expression is used specifically in relation to music and the visual arts, but can refer to any field using minimalism as a critical reference point. In music, postminimalism refers to music following minimal music.
The term Post-minimalism used to describe the work of artists who utilized the innovations of minimalism, but who also critiqued many aspects of Minimalist theory and practice The term was coined in 1971 by the art critic. Robert Pincus-Witten to describe a major current in American art from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s that included artists associated with process art, conceptual art, earth art, body art, and performance art Because of Post-minimalism’s diversity, it is best understood as a period or tendency rather than a style or movement. Pincus-Witten compared Post-minimalism to post-impressionism in that both are used to describe widely differing styles that developed from a common root (Minimalism and Impressionism, respectively).
Visual art
In visual art, postminimalist art uses minimalism either as an aesthetic or conceptual reference point. Postminimalism is more an artistic tendency than a particular movement. Postminimalist artworks are usually everyday objects, use simple materials, and sometimes take on a “pure”, formalist aesthetic. However, since postminimalism includes such a diverse and disparate group of artists, it is impossible to enumerate all the continuities and similarities between them.
The work of Eva Hesse is also postminimalist: it uses “grids” and “seriality”, themes often found in minimalism, but is also usually hand-made, introducing a human element into her art, in contrast to the machine or custom-made works of minimalism. Richard Serra is a prominent post-minimalist.
Artists
Richard Wentworth
Hanna Wilke
Eva Hesse
Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Anish Kapoor
Wolfgang Lyba
Bruce Naumann
Gabriel Orosco
Damian Ortega
Martin Purrier
Ray Charles
Cat Sonne
Richard Tattle
Cecil Tucson
Rachel Whitered
So Friedman
Mona Hatum
Damien Hirst
Joel Shapiro
Music
In its general musical usage, postminimalism refers to works influenced by minimal music, and it is generally categorized within the meta-genre art music. Writer Kyle Gann has employed the term more strictly to denote the style that flourished in the 1980s and 1990s and characterized by:
a steady pulse, usually continuing throughout a work or movement;
a diatonic pitch language, tonal in effect but avoiding traditional functional tonality;
general evenness of dynamics, without strong climaxes or nuanced emotionalism; and
unlike minimalism, an avoidance of obvious or linear formal design.
Minimalist procedures such as additive and subtractive process are common in postminimalism, though usually in disguised form, and the style has also shown a capacity for absorbing influences from world and popular music (Balinese gamelan, bluegrass, Jewish cantillation, and so on).
Post-minimalism can also be characterized negatively: as the complete opposite of ser and al and zm . Like serialists, post-minimalists were inclined to search for a holistic musical language, a complete syntax for creating music. But while the serialist’s syntax was characterized by clumsiness and arrhythmia, the post-minimalists sought a smooth, linear, melodic, gently rhythmic, accessible syntax. Born in the 1940s, the generation of post-minimalists grew up, studying serialism, and learned many of his values. Minimalism inspired them to search for more accessible music for the audience, but they still comprehended music in terms that came from 12-tone idioms: as a language, designed to provide the internal integrity of the form.
For a musical style derived from minimalism, see Totalism (music).
Composers
Louis Andriessen
Glenn Branca
Rice Chatem
Ben Frost
Kevin Volans
Phill Niblock
Richie Hothin
Michael Nyman
Max Richter
Michael Chekalin
Pavel Kishen
Batagov Anton
Vladimir Martynov
Source from Wikipedia