Conceptual Minimalism in Photography (Ralph Gibson)

In the 1970s, particularly in the United States, there emerged a photographic trend where the most representative aspect of an image was the concept.

Ralph Gibson (1) is one of the most relevant authors of this period. In his early works, he used minimalism, applying the principle of "less is more" to the composition of his photographs.

During this period, the book of photographs (2) became an autonomous means of expression, through the succession and confrontation of the images. Gibson's trilogy (The Somnambulist, 1970; Déjà-Vu, 1973; Days at Sea, 1975) consists of three books without words. A visual narrative links photographs with light and shadows, volumes and textures, and/or iconic signs (forms and contents).

Gibson supported the idea of breaking the boundaries of the concepts of Decisive moment and Significant moment (3). For him, photographs were merely visual forms (4), and viewers imagined the content of the images if they wanted to.