Mini Minimum

Rating:
Summary: it's a phaidon
Review: ANYTHING by phaidon u can get without opening and checking the book. they are the best publishers out there. trust them blindly.. this book is great. great design, it lets out a good vibe. helps get your lifestyle right...

Rating:
Summary: "minimum" should take it's own advice
Review: As a designer who surrounds herself with "things that I find compelling" as sort of religion, I found John Pawson's "minimum" an homage to the simplicity and grace that is everywhere, and is especially apparent in the finest of the modern masters. Unfortunately, Pawson chose to clutter his minimalist essay with unnecessary words in the form of individual captions, statements like "Agnes Martin's heartfelt expression of calm," describing her composition of fine horizontal line groupings against a grey tonal canvas, or "The moon on the sea at night - a picture of tranquility and calm." The work is better served when he leaves out the excessive adjectives and stays with the concrete, which is where the minimalist work truly belongs - material, light, space, line, form - such as his simple caption "Wall, ramp and stair flow into one another at Versailles." Any one of the captions on it's own would, perhaps, be fine, but page after page they become shallow and irritating, given the strength of the images. I found the introduction a bit on the trite side, as well. Pawson should follow one of his own maxims more closely -the power of silence. I would still recommend the book, however, as his choice of images is superb - and pulls from art as much as architecture, including a look at the abstraction of line made by-of all things-a stealth bomber in the sky. Best looked at as a secret treasure trove for designers and laymen alike, the images are undeniable in their economy-one of the mainstays of the poetic and the backbone of minimalism.

Rating:
Summary: Well-done look at minimal architecture and use of space
Review: For anyone interested in what space (not outer-space, but the space we live in) could look like if we'd but show the courage to get rid of trinkets, bric-a-brac, and other clutter, this is the perfect book. And for those who already embrace the simplicity of minimalism, this is a wonderful picture book of great minimalist spaces, and other flowing, graceful geometries. It is not a textbook or text-based lesson on minimalism, but instead a visual guide - nearly every page is a picture of a minimalist scene. The photography and the reproduction are done amazingly well, and the subjects chosen are varied and represent many forms of minimalist thinking/viewing. It's printed on great quality paper with a nice binding and cover. But, I can give it only 4 stars because, as other reviewer mentioned, Pawson adds lots of unnecessary (and unhelpful and inappropriately leading) captioning. The book is a slick little well-made art-piece itself, too.

Rating:
Summary: this visual essay is beutiful in its simplicity
Review: if a picture is worth a thousand words this piece speeks volumes. the images are well chosen and beautifully pressented.

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Summary: A cute little ol' book
Review: If you can even call it a book. You'll breeze through it in less than a day, but don't let that discourage you. Its fun and interesting. Nice for the ol' coffee table as well.

Rating:
Summary: A cute little ol' book
Review: If you can even call it a book. You'll breeze through it in less than a day, but don't let that discourage you. Its fun and interesting. Nice for the ol' coffee table as well.

Rating:
Summary: 5* for the book-idea, 5* for the format, 4* for the content
Review: it's hard not to talk to much about a book called "minimum". Previous review said exactly what is my only concern about this beautiful idea: words are in excess in that book. You might almost say the book is too big... Why not use Fontana (the painter) (s)words to say it?

Rating:
Summary: A book on minimalist architecture with little Pawson's work
Review: John Pawson did an great job of exploring minimalist architecture. What was missing was a focus on Pawson's work itself. I would have liked to seen something like the book "Richard Meier Houses" that focused entirely on John Pawson's work. As it turned out "Minimum" contains little of Pawson's work.

Rating:
Summary: sublime
Review: Pawson has put together an elegant and inspiring collection of both high modernist and simplistic images deriving from art, architecture, and our natural world. Minimum is a plea for reduction and a soothing way for anyone to spend an hour.

Rating:
Summary: "minimum" should take it's own advice
Review: the true beauty of Pawson's quiet polemic is his restraint. remaing true to the theme, little text is offered, save a small elaboration for each image included as an appendix. the other refreshing aspect is his control in image selection. little of his work appears, and when it does, he only credits himself in the appendix. i can appreciate this approach to an architecture book. it is obviously not a monograph or end-table book as is Richard Meier Architect. instead, it is a 'this is what i like around me' book. the inclusion of non-architectural images (note the B-2 bomber and a three-prong fork) reinforces the theme of the truly powerful restraint that could exist in all design.