The term "minimalism" is used to describe movements in many different forms of art and design, most notably in visual art and music, in which the work is intended to reveal the essence, essentials, or identity of a subject by stripping away any forms, features, or concepts that aren't absolutely necessary. It is a particular trend in the arts that is associated with the innovations that took place in Western art after World War II, particularly in the visual arts of the United States throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.