This title is Taschen 25 - Special edition! It explains the bare minimum. Founded as a backlash against abstract expressionism, Minimalism was characterized by simplified, stripped-down forms and materials used to express ideas in a direct and impersonal manner. By presenting objects as simple objects, minimal artists sought to communicate without referring to expressive or historical themes. This critical movement, which began in the 1960s and branched out into land art, performance art, and conceptual art, is still a major influence today.