Minimalism With Flair and Humor

                     Minimal Works with Flair and Humor

Is minimalist art austere? reserved?  To answer, let’s look at the work of Martin Creed.  He is British and seems to express a certain British kind of zany humor.  Start by looking at his message sign, then on to a step-pyramid of colored bars, and then painted x’s, large at the top getting  smaller down to the floor. Do you think those x’s would be more effective with largest on bottom going to smallest on the top, or better horizontally, or randomly, or in a circle?  Why do you think Creed chose the X progression getting smaller downward as he did?

                            

                                     

                                                         

                                        

                 

                                      

    

Creed can do sculpture too.  As proof, look at his series of nails graduated in thickness and height.  There is no color, but there are shadows, in fact two shadows for every nail.  I think the photographer’s choice of angle and the lighting from two sources does a lot for this work.  Other pictures I’ve seen don’t look at all as good.

It is hard to put your finger on humor, but I will try.  Creed’s work seems to have a playful, perhaps silly character.  He makes humble objects look surprisingly good.

The piece with the larger X’s on top has them look like the large ones are pressing down or standing on the little ones.  The pyramid of horizontal stripes look thrown together, but the piece works.

He has other stripe pieces and you would be surprised what different effects come from choice of different stripe widths and whether the paint is opaque or transparent, and from tiny details of how the paint is applied.  His work seems a bit like doodling and I think he is having fun.