3 ms·

Each to their own - I personally find the ornate decoration, richly coloured walls, large pictures etc quite unpleasant, almost eerie. It is mentally too noisy

Each to their own - I personally find the ornate decoration, richly coloured walls, large pictures etc quite unpleasant, almost eerie. It is mentally too noisy and overwhelming - I much prefer a simpler approach - not necessarily "minimalist", but simple, light and plain are best for me. Calming, relaxing, peaceful, quiet. More important than decoration though for me is the quality of the architecture, the quality of the space it self - light, human-scale, how you move through the spaces, outlook and views etc

monero-xmr 2y ago
That’s a fair argument. If you truly like minimalism and it gives you aesthetic pleasure then that is your choice. I think people like to go into cathedrals, museums, travel around Europe, and experience the old world because it resonates with them spiritually and emotionally. I live in my own version of beauty, which is rare today, but I think far more people would prefer to live how I do than the current paradigm. I view minimalism as shorthand for “cheap” that society has foisted upon us in order to cut costs. Everything expensive in terms of time or money that I invest in, I do because of the value it provides me
- danans 2y ago
  > I view minimalism as shorthand for “cheap” that society has foisted upon us in order to cut costs. Cheap aesthetics (in the sense of quality and thoughtfulness, not necessarily $), can be either minimalist or ornate.
- brudgers 2y ago
  I live in the American west to be surrounded with natural beauty.
- 0xEF 2y ago
  Interesting take on minimalism, if not a bit at odds with my own. Rather than align it with cheapness, I see it as a challenge of efficacy in communication, asking how we can convey an idea in as few words, symbols or pictures as possible and still achieve general understanding. In my experience (mostly in writing product manuals and trying to keep them from turning into novel-length publications) communicating in a minimal way requires far more work. I think of the problem of labeling nuclear waste sites as an illustration to my point. You might be right about European tourists, though. I appreciate the cathedrals and the like for what they are, but my draw to travel in Europe has more to do with the reminder and humility that comes with doing something so mundane as eating a piece of licorice in a sweets shop that's been in operation longer than my country has (US), or something to that effect. Things like that are great medicine for staying grounded and alleviating symptoms of American Exceptionalism.
vladms 2y ago
Just curious, are you really calm on the long term in a minimalist decor? I get that when you look at it at first you don't get assaulted by input (as it is minimalist), but can you keep an inner peace for long because of the decor? For me, in such a decorated place, I get a calming effect on the longer term by just studying the details, which makes my mind not focus on your every day worries (or what stupid thing happens somewhere in the world) but rather on other questions/observations. Then, when I get back to every day worries I can see that maybe my worries were exaggerated, misplaced.
- mattlondon 2y ago
  Not "minimalist", but simple, plain, neutral: very much yes. Would you say you get a calming effect from studying the details of a tiktok or facebook feed? Unlikely I expect. Too much going on, too much fighting for attention etc - its draining. I cannot see how people can complain about how "bad" the modern internet is with social media and then decorate their houses the same way?!
  - skyyler 2y ago
    Comparing beautiful ornamentation to algorithmic content feeds is kind of strange to me. Even if a piece by Heironimus Bosch or Pablo Picasso was used as wallpaper, that would be significantly less stimulating than an agloslop content feed.
  - vladms 2y ago
    Would definitely not getting the same effect from a tiktok or facebook feed, but static art/decoration are quite different from that for me. For one, the art stays the same, the only thing you can change are your position and the lighting. Second, most art is much less political, does not claim to be something it is not and does not try to sell you something. So quite some advantages.
    - mattlondon 2y ago
      > Second, most art is much less political, does not claim to be something it is not and does not try to sell you something I am not much of an art expert, but pretty much all art is about that from what I can recall from school?!

monero-xmr 2y ago

That’s a fair argument. If you truly like minimalism and it gives you aesthetic pleasure then that is your choice. I think people like to go into cathedrals, museums, travel around Europe, and experience the old world because it resonates with them spiritually and emotionally. I live in my own version of beauty, which is rare today, but I think far more people would prefer to live how I do than the current paradigm. I view minimalism as shorthand for “cheap” that society has foisted upon us in order to cut costs. Everything expensive in terms of time or money that I invest in, I do because of the value it provides me

danans 2y ago
> I view minimalism as shorthand for “cheap” that society has foisted upon us in order to cut costs. Cheap aesthetics (in the sense of quality and thoughtfulness, not necessarily $), can be either minimalist or ornate.
brudgers 2y ago
I live in the American west to be surrounded with natural beauty.
0xEF 2y ago
Interesting take on minimalism, if not a bit at odds with my own. Rather than align it with cheapness, I see it as a challenge of efficacy in communication, asking how we can convey an idea in as few words, symbols or pictures as possible and still achieve general understanding. In my experience (mostly in writing product manuals and trying to keep them from turning into novel-length publications) communicating in a minimal way requires far more work. I think of the problem of labeling nuclear waste sites as an illustration to my point. You might be right about European tourists, though. I appreciate the cathedrals and the like for what they are, but my draw to travel in Europe has more to do with the reminder and humility that comes with doing something so mundane as eating a piece of licorice in a sweets shop that's been in operation longer than my country has (US), or something to that effect. Things like that are great medicine for staying grounded and alleviating symptoms of American Exceptionalism.

vladms 2y ago

Just curious, are you really calm on the long term in a minimalist decor? I get that when you look at it at first you don't get assaulted by input (as it is minimalist), but can you keep an inner peace for long because of the decor? For me, in such a decorated place, I get a calming effect on the longer term by just studying the details, which makes my mind not focus on your every day worries (or what stupid thing happens somewhere in the world) but rather on other questions/observations. Then, when I get back to every day worries I can see that maybe my worries were exaggerated, misplaced.

mattlondon 2y ago
Not "minimalist", but simple, plain, neutral: very much yes. Would you say you get a calming effect from studying the details of a tiktok or facebook feed? Unlikely I expect. Too much going on, too much fighting for attention etc - its draining. I cannot see how people can complain about how "bad" the modern internet is with social media and then decorate their houses the same way?!
- skyyler 2y ago
  Comparing beautiful ornamentation to algorithmic content feeds is kind of strange to me. Even if a piece by Heironimus Bosch or Pablo Picasso was used as wallpaper, that would be significantly less stimulating than an agloslop content feed.
- vladms 2y ago
  Would definitely not getting the same effect from a tiktok or facebook feed, but static art/decoration are quite different from that for me. For one, the art stays the same, the only thing you can change are your position and the lighting. Second, most art is much less political, does not claim to be something it is not and does not try to sell you something. So quite some advantages.
  - mattlondon 2y ago
    > Second, most art is much less political, does not claim to be something it is not and does not try to sell you something I am not much of an art expert, but pretty much all art is about that from what I can recall from school?!