Meaning Through Removal - Subtractive Silent Monumentalism | Page 191
Subtractive Silent Monumentalism
Silent Monumentalism consists of:
- Mass
- Silence
- Space
These elements connect with subtractive principles.
Both approaches are less concerned with decoration and more concerned with mass, silence and space.
Both reduce excessive decoration through the deliberate omission of what is unnecessary.
Everything that does not serve the core is removed. This allows mass and silence to carry weight and presence.
What remains becomes the true content of the work rather than decoration.
What remains is mass, silence, weight and presence. These elements carry meaning without excessive additions.
Meaning is created by taking away, not by adding.
Pieter Lategan
20 July 2026 - 01:39 PM
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Subtractive Silent Monumentalism
I look at historical monuments, places and sculptures, and at examples such as God’s Finger in Namibia and the Kailasa Temple in India.
These references help me formulate my thoughts and help me understand mass, silence and space in context by studying historical places and then applying those ideas in my own work.
Detail can either support or overpower.
Detail must support the core.
The viewer’s eye must first rest on mass, weight, presence and silence, and not on detail.
We are speaking here about Subtractive Silent Monumentalism, not Subtractive Gravitas.
Pieter Lategan
20 July 2026 02:00 AM
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Subtractive Silent Monumentalism
Subtractive Silent Monumentalism seeks to make quietness visible.
The aim is to show calmness through Silent Monumentalism.
What is removed is often detail.
The viewer should enter the space slowly.
The work can be explained briefly so that viewers first feel and then judge.
The viewer sees what remains, and notices how light and shadow shape the experience.
Silence is not empty. It is a conscious choice.
Silence carries meaning.
- Pieter Lategan, 2026
Page 22 shows the initial mass as one solid form. It appears anchored. This is not final. It is the beginning of my thought process.
Pieter Lategan
20 July 2026 - 02:31 AM
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Subtractive Silent Monumentalism
Page 22 is the initial study of how to make the form quieter.
The aim is to remove deliberately and to make the work stiller and calmer:
- less tension
- less distraction
- more space for breathing
- less detail
What remains gains more visual weight.
You remove so that what remains becomes stronger in presence, and so that the viewer’s focus is directed toward the relationship between mass and silence.
Why do I remove?
- because emptiness is a carrier of meaning
- in other words, the negative space begins to speak actively
What do I want to say?
The negative space becomes an active part of the composition.
In other words, the removal becomes silence, and I do not need to replace it with something else.
Pieter Lategan
20 July 2026 - 19:10 PM
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Subtractive Silent Monumentalism
Why do I remove?
I remove because it lies at the core of my philosophy of Silent Monumentalism.
I leave unnecessary decoration behind.
What happens when I remove?
Silence is created deliberately. My work can then carry silence.
I want to create silence within the noise—a space where the viewer can look more slowly and think.
Philosophy
Silent Monumentalism examines how deliberate removal changes the relationship between mass and space in order to create silence.
Page 22
Page 22 now focuses on the full, raw mass.
In this study, negative space organises the form. The space determines the silhouettes and boundaries of the forms.
Formulating a Method
The method is developed through deliberate removal.
This changes the relationship between mass, space and light.
Negative space is no longer merely the background. It becomes an active part of the composition.
Pieter Lategan
21 July 2026 - 15:21 PM
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Subtractive Silent Monumentalism
Negative space and silence contribute to the structure of the work.
Silence becomes deliberate. It creates room for meaning and gives the viewer time to look first and then to think.
The purpose of Silent Monumentalism is to leave things out deliberately—to create space and silence so that meaning can emerge.
A Comparison with Logo Design
This is a comparison drawn from my own experience.
I worked with logo design for many years. It taught me the discipline of using fewer visual elements to communicate the core, message or meaning of a logo quickly and clearly.
The discipline is to use fewer visual components so that the core can stand out more clearly.
This principle will remain relevant: remove what is unnecessary so that the core becomes clear.
Even as technology changes, the human ability to observe, judge and distinguish between what is necessary and what can be left out remains important.
Pieter Lategan
21 July 2026 - 15:29 PM
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Subtractive Silent Monumentalism
Regardless of changes in technology and tools, human observation and choice remain important.
Human judgement and the ability to choose remain central, even as technology and equipment continue to change.
There must still be decisions about:
- what should be left out;
- what should be improved;
- and what is necessary for the work.
As a person practises and reflects, the work gradually improves.
Page 23
The eye moves towards the open space.
The mass feels calm and anchored.
Detail remains secondary.
Conceptually, the forms appear as blocks and spatial volumes. They do not represent a specific place. Instead, the viewer experiences:
- space;
- silence;
- weight;
- and mass.
The three-dimensional quality is clearly visible.
Silence, mass and space are also clearly present.
The form appears to stand on something. The shadow helps it appear grounded rather than suspended.
Pieter Lategan
21 July 2026 - 15:37 PM
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Subtractive Silent Monumentalism
Page 24
Silent Monumentalism must have control.
It must show a clear relationship between silence and mass.
This is a spatial study that uses mass and silence as its main subjects.
Through deliberate omission, the focus shifts more clearly toward the relationship between mass, silence and space.
The aim of subtraction is not simply to show less, but to make the relationship between silence, mass and weight clearer.
Observations on Page 24
-
Stability
The forms appear stable and grounded. This strengthens Silent Monumentalism because stability creates a sense of stillness, weight and presence. -
Simplification
Simplification is the deliberate removal of unnecessary elements. It makes the relationship between mass, silence and space clearer. -
Tension between the masses
The opening between the forms creates tension. The negative space is not empty; it actively separates and connects the masses at the same time. -
Direction
The negative space leads the eye through the composition. It guides the viewer’s movement between the forms. -
Control of form, line and space
The composition shows control through simple forms, limited lines and clear relationships. This creates a feeling of order, silence and monumentality. -
Mass and space in relation
This study examines how mass and space stand in relation to one another. The space is not empty; it carries tension and meaning.
Pieter Lategan
21 July 2026 - 15:41 PM
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Subtractive Silent Monumentalism
Sketchbook Page 25
- The mass has decreased.
- The lines make the sketch feel lighter.
- The opening is weaker.
- Lines and planes begin to take over, causing the sketch to lose some of its weight and monumental presence.
- In this study, the qualities of Silent Monumentalism are expressed less strongly.
- Too much simplification can weaken Silent Monumentalism.
Conclusion
From these first studies of Silent Monumentalism, it appears that monumentality does not arise from mass alone. It develops through the relationship between mass, space and negative space.
The sketches reveal a method of observation.
Page 25 shows where the balance begins to shift away from mass.
The central question becomes:
How does form carry meaning?
Pieter Lategan
21 July 2026 - 16:51 PM
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Subtractive Silent Monumentalism - Developing Meaning Through Removal | Page 200
Continue Exploring This Study
Read the Subtractive Silent Monumentalism Notes and Sketches | You are here
Read the Kailasa Temple Architectural Notes and Subtractive Studies | click here
Continue the Discussion
Start with one detail. What do you notice first about the relationship between mass, negative space and silence in these studies?
Which sketch carries the strongest monumental presence, and where does simplification begin to reduce its weight or stability?
What should be removed—and what must remain—for a form to carry meaning?
Share your observation or question in the comments. I read the discussion and use recurring questions to guide future studies.
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