Next to Nothing
Less is more, more or less
The final, and somehow most profound, revelation encompasses this experiential political dimension. Unbelievably, “A Minimal Future?” is the first major American museum retrospective of the movement, and the opportunity to attend to such a large grouping of Minimalist works — away from more entertaining objetsand sans a lot of theoretical programming — can be a mind-expanding experience. And given the period itself — the ’60s — it’s hard not to consider the impact of various self-medications on the artists at hand. It might not be counterproductive for MOCA to flood their galleries with pot smoke, but even if you’ve never been experienced, these works can trigger a “contact high.” Time slows down, your senses seem sharper, and space opens up. If you can resist the urge to allow your own ego to expand and fill the theatrical void of that space, you may find yourself in an entirely new and unfamiliar relationship to art.
John Cage once said, “If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then 16. Then 32. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all.” With persistence, you may find in Minimalism an art that, in spite of its contextualization as Important Art presented to you by an Important Institution in a Historically Important Exhibit, isn’t trying to instruct you about anything that isn’t right there, available to your senses, unallied to extraneous rationalizations and devoid of redeeming social importance. It’s the least we can expect.
A MINIMAL FUTURE? Art as Object, 1958–1968 | Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave. | Through August 2
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