When Less Isn't More: Illustrating the Appeal of a Moral Rights Model of Copyright through a Study of Minimalist Art
owCitation: 47 IDEA 453 2006-2007 Content downloaded/printed from HeinOnline (http://heinonline.org) Wed Jul 31 02:58:46 2013 -- Your use of this HeinOnline PDF indicates your acceptance of HeinOnline's Terms and Conditions of the license agreement available at http://heinonline.org/HOL/License -- The search text of this PDF is generated from uncorrected OCR text. -- To obtain permission to use this article beyond the scope of your HeinOnline license, please use: https://www.copyright.com/ccc/basicSearch.do? &operation=go&searchType=0 &lastSearch=simple&all=on&titleOrStdNo=0019-1272
453
WHEN LESS ISN'T MORE: ILLUSTRATING THE APPEAL OF A MORAL RIGHTS MODEL OF COPYRIGHT THROUGH A STUDY OF MINIMALIST ART
RIKKI SAPOLICH* 1. INTRODUCTION
What do the Apple iPod, Ikea, nouvelle cuisine, and Seinfield have in common? All four are popular examples of the minimalist movement's immense influence on modem culture. Due to its sleek stylization, it is easy to see that minimalism is a guiding principle in the design of Apple products. Consider as an example the iPod Shuffle, the most minimalist of MP3 players. Its interface contains only the items absolutely necessary to play music: a play/pause button, a rocker-ring for moving through songs, a power switch, and a battery check.' Even the USB plug is cleverly hidden.2 In stark contrast to other MP3 players, there is no display and, there are no playlists or adjustable settings.3 The influence of minimalism is clear. The popular furniture store Ikea has built an empire selling inexpensive copies of Moderne designer furniture conveniently packaged to easily fit in a station wagon. In design and architecture, Modernism, with its commitment to integrity of materials and "utter simplicity" of design, embraced the mantra "less is more." 4 Modernist design elements grew out of the minimalist design
J.D., Franklin Pierce Law Center, (Expected 2007); B.S. in Science, The Pennsylvania State University, Schreyer Honors
453
WHEN LESS ISN'T MORE: ILLUSTRATING THE APPEAL OF A MORAL RIGHTS MODEL OF COPYRIGHT THROUGH A STUDY OF MINIMALIST ART
RIKKI SAPOLICH* 1. INTRODUCTION
What do the Apple iPod, Ikea, nouvelle cuisine, and Seinfield have in common? All four are popular examples of the minimalist movement's immense influence on modem culture. Due to its sleek stylization, it is easy to see that minimalism is a guiding principle in the design of Apple products. Consider as an example the iPod Shuffle, the most minimalist of MP3 players. Its interface contains only the items absolutely necessary to play music: a play/pause button, a rocker-ring for moving through songs, a power switch, and a battery check.' Even the USB plug is cleverly hidden.2 In stark contrast to other MP3 players, there is no display and, there are no playlists or adjustable settings.3 The influence of minimalism is clear. The popular furniture store Ikea has built an empire selling inexpensive copies of Moderne designer furniture conveniently packaged to easily fit in a station wagon. In design and architecture, Modernism, with its commitment to integrity of materials and "utter simplicity" of design, embraced the mantra "less is more." 4 Modernist design elements grew out of the minimalist design
J.D., Franklin Pierce Law Center, (Expected 2007); B.S. in Science, The Pennsylvania State University, Schreyer Honors