88 SUFFICIENCY OF MEANS
ECONOMY YIELDS EXPRESSIVE RICHES
Sufficiency of means is the idea that the work of art is strongest when it achieves its desired result in the most economical fashion possible. Each component, whether it be color, line, layering, or tone, is deployed in a fashion that allows it to simply achieve its task and no more. Often this idea involves considerable editing, the removal of extraneous material that is not germane to the success of the artwork. Unnecessary detail, overplayed drama, excessive elements, tiresome overworking, theatrical flourishes might all be jettisoned so that the primary purpose of the artwork comes to the fore.
This principle is sometimes expressed by the idea “Less is more,” a phrase first coined ...
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