Minimalism and minimalist approaches on today's sculpture art

The art of sculpture which is performed in line with certain purposes through the ages has entered a fast period of time and changed intellectually and formally by the influence of life conditions since the end of the19th century. These changes have reflected as different forms and ideas to different societies and cultures. The art of sculpture has experienced one of its biggest changes through Minimalism. The thoughts and sense of form derived from this insight have affected today's sculpture artists, too. Minimalism is an art movement which appeared in the U.S.A in 1960s. With the simplification tendency starting with Rodin in the early 20th century and the approach of Brancusi as paring-down the formal elements, some advanced improvements occurred in sculpture and its formal state became more smooth and simple. With Minimalism, sculpture focused on objects and environment by using geometrical forms and avoiding any kind of representative elements and illusion. In this study, the development process of sculpture and its relations with the statue in the Modern Art Movements have been examined and Minimalist approaches after the 20th century have been determined. The influences of Minimalism's thinking and sense of form on today's sculpture have been evaluated according to specific artists and works.