Minimalism
Minimalism is a 1960s American art movement holding that an artwork should be nothing but its own literal materials and form — later borrowed as a name for a lifestyle of owning less.
Full definition of Minimalism →:: COMPARE ::
Minimalist artvsMinimalist lifestyle
The short answer
They share a word and almost nothing else. The art movement is a claim about what an artwork is — an object with independent reality rather than a depiction of anything. The lifestyle sense is a consumption ethic. Neither derives from the other, and a third sense — minimal music — is a separate thing again.
Side by side
| Aspect | Minimalist art | Minimalist lifestyle |
|---|---|---|
| Claim about | What an object is | How much to own |
| Era | 1960s | 2010s |
| Feels | Industrial, large | Calm, spare |
| Named by | Critics | Practitioners |
What each one means
Minimalist lifestyle
The contrast above sets out how Minimalist lifestyle differs from Minimalism on the points that actually matter.