Manifesto

Living in today’s complex society, we should advocate the simplicity in life. The concept of minimalism has been widely used in many different design areas such as architecture, interior, graphic, fashion, package and industrial design. By observing what is around us, we can see how minimalism is affecting our modern life through landscapes, buildings, computers, phones, clothing, shoes, bags, furniture, jewelries, watches, home appliances and so on.

Minimalism is reductivist as the greatest time and effort of Minimalist Artists, Architects and Designers are all starting with an original idea then reducing the unnecessary design until it reaches to a minimalist version. Taking this design approach of the phrase ‘Less is more’ is the central principle of minimalism. It does not mean to have a design that looks simple and effortless but asserting and encouraging that simplicity and clarity will lead to good designs.

Minimalism contributes a lot in our lifestyle, which allows us to focus on the quality of the things itself, experiencing and appreciating the pure qualities of materials, forms, colours and spaces. It rejects the concept of artist being an actor, and it rejects the idea of art should be used to express personal feelings of the artist. When things cannot be simplified any further, it goes back to the realest state of elements, back to colours, forms, textures, materials, spaces, lines, dots and so on.

Material is not just a material. Materiality communicates its own message in terms of texture, colour and shape. Paper is very common in our daily lives as well as in the art world but it is far more than a material for us to write and print on. It manifests its whiteness and thinness, light in weight; fragile and ephemeral because it cannot be returned to its pure state once it is soiled. Art in unusual forms and made of extraordinary materials hypnotize viewers and inspires our sensitivities. The idea of material and its calmness and stillness sitting in a space are timeless. As time goes by, it added the value and sense of smell, touch and memory.

With the abundance of colours in the world and when we have the ability to manipulate thousands of colours on papers and on screens: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, colour seems to be just a colour. Black and white is possibly the simplest two colours and arguably the best minimalist colour combination that gives a complementary sense. However, colour is not just visual that exists independently in nature but something that is used to delineate the space and connected to our perceptions.

In the past when high technology does not exist, we used to judge matters with our perceptions. Thanks to our technology-driven society so we stopped writing letters by hand because we have e-mails; we stopped doing math in our heads or on paper because we have calculator; we stopped flipping through dictionaries because we have Internet that would only take a second to search things; we stopped remembering complicated spellings of words because we have automatic spell check. However, technology also threatens to destroy our human senses though all we do is always applauding and following to what is new today.

There are all kinds of information filled within our society and spreads all around the world nowadays. Interpreting art by setting up meanings is destroying our feelings as if it is the revenge of the understanding upon art. We want to get rid of the complexities and pursue the simple and aesthetic of design. We believe everyone can be a Minimalist Artist, Architect and Designer and a great Minimalist Artist, Architect and Designer can comes from anywhere. Designs should not only be the domain of an Artist, Architect or Designer but everyone who can express an idea that can be viewed with our senses.

Minimal is always better. We should always never worry, have unchecked obsessions or get distracted but we should be calm, respectful and bless that we can obtain basic needs. Let not be materialist or consumerist because we buy too many things that we don’t need but it might have the potential to change our society. This is what we meant to have a better quality of life. If we do not embrace minimalism, sooner or later something else will be replaced. With this in mind, I propose to share our experiences and opinions, and to have minimalism continue in the coming decades, in order to benefit everyone and the community.

Perhaps ignore what I have mentioned earlier and in order to make this manifesto as minimal as possible, I would like to end it or I should say start it with the word ‘YOU’.