Inside Maximalism's Powerfully Expressive World

by Franco Bugna

Our lives were turned upside down on four sides of our house during the pandemic, yet despite our boredom, we still preferred to create art; as viewing art assists us to process our experiences. Art allows us to express ourselves and comprehend the world around us. We are one of a kind in our human desire to create and participate with the arts - to reawaken our senses.

Minimalism has gripped the culture for quite some time now with minimalist fashion, interior design, lifestyle, and places, among other things. However, especially in the midst of the pandemic, the tide is slowly turning with Maximalism becoming the current hot trend. Excessive and repetitive use of patterns, layers, and detailed details allows us to experiment with our environment, clothing choices, and living places. It's a feeling conveyed through the use of extravagant aesthetics in vibrant colors and patterns. "Maximalism's spirit is a fundamental and unwavering pursuit of open-mindedness... of delight”. To be a maximalist is to be inquisitive, eager to try on concepts, beliefs, and perspectives and keep only those that fit. It draws attention to and strengthens a space's strong character and intensity.

MAXIMALISM

*Image: Boya_0805, maalavidaa, zpixer_a, Scarlett Yang | Graphic Edit: Franco Bugna*

Maximalism is a phrase that is used in the arts such as fashion, writing, artistic expression, entertainment, and media. It's a term that's used to describe a movement or a trend by encompassing all variables under a broad umbrella term like expressionism. It refers to a trait of excessive repetition that is frequently manifested in the overt accumulation of accouterments that reflect society today. In various contexts, the word alludes to either the extravagant displays of the super-large rich's belongings or the obsessive collecting prevalent among garage sale buyers who gather mundane household products beyond reason.

Maximalism is often linked with post-modern books by David Foster Wallace and Thomas Pynchon, in which tangent, connection, and refinement of details make up a large part of the content. It can apply to anything that is excessively complicated and "showy," as well as superfluous overload in features and attachments, grossness in quantity and quality, maximalism, or the urge to add and build too extreme.

*Image: Daryush Shokof | Graphic Edit: Franco Bugna*

Daryush Shokof, an artist and filmmaker, founded the movement of maximalism in the arts in Cologne, Germany, in 1990. In terms of the arts, maximalism is a new approach to making art. Several components may be found in the work of artists who are involved of the maximalist style.

Daryush Shokof described his 1990 one-man show of canvases at Galleria Verlato in Milano, Italy as "unbalancing the chaos = Alignment = Living = Maximalism." It appeared in several catalogues of his one-man shows and the maximalists' group engagements in Europe and the United States from 1990 to 1993.

Maximalism in Fashion

*Image: Iris Van Herpen, Schiaparelli, Valentino, Louis Vuitton - Menswear| Graphic Edit: Franco Bugna*

Fashion always has been a cultural representation. The resurrection of maximalism was formed in response to the mundanity of isolation in the event of the pandemic. The maximalist style's extreme purpose is to bring illumination into gloomy spaces while reminding its adherents that, even in a period defined by shallowness, we have the unrivaled potential to take up space.

The maximalist dressing is not a new trend in the fashion world. Throughout history, major labels like Commes des Garçon, Iris Van Herpen, and Schiaparelli have always embraced the maximalist dogmas of extravagance and drama. At home, though, we've all worked together to bring back vibrancy, complexity, and strong shapes. Waiting time caused by the pandemic has been filled with viral fashion challenges and personal style experiments. For example, videos demonstrating how to make statement jewelry, quirky jumpers, and multicolored patchwork shirts swamped on TikTok. Those of us who have never touched a knitting needle has evolved into fine-tuned creatives and maximalist-style gurus. Chunky sweaters were paired with bright tights and edgy haircuts, while imitation feathers and beaded jewelry were staples in everyday wear.

The runways of 2022 brilliantly expressed this communal passion for the odd and unusual. Dazzling hues, wacky designs, sequins abound are off-limits. From metallic pink Valentino boots to Virgil Abloh's wearable cityscapes for Louis Vuitton men's, contemporary designers are injecting optimism into their creations via maximalist details and escapist mindsets.

Maximalism in Visual Arts / Painting

During these odd times, much has been said and written about the value – the necessity– of paintings in the face of the current environmental, political, and economic catastrophe. A cursory check on national and international newspapers and publications reveals arrogant, demanding, and glib speech. "Artists are the only ones who can't be silenced," "Paintings will protect humanity," and the title "The art Fighting Coronavirus." It's also worth noting that the great majority of folks who make those claims aren't artists. How did we come to be so demanding? How did we think a virus could be "defeated" by a completely informal economy?

Certainly, art can participate in many areas of the human activities. Its major value, though, is its power to personalize us. Art cannot inevitably influence habits. It is not a medicine or a program. Empathy does not grow just by gazing at a painting: it requires action, action for which art provides the tools. It can't win an election or depose a president; it can't stop global warming, cure a sickness, or resurrect the dead. Nonetheless, it is an antidote to disorder, a route map to better transparency, a force of opposition and healing, producing new data, dialects, and pictures to consider. It is a gradual instrument that does not function instantly and needs testing, ongoing observation, breakdown of preconceptions, and thought habits.

"Paintings have other responsibilities: they are not to enlighten, call - to - action, or serve as alternative journalism or communication plan. Paintings must go immediately in order to demolish anything, even if our techniques are controversial and unpleasant.”

Maximalism in Interior Design

“The maximalist vision of household joy of Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari entails filling every nook with color, texture, and pattern. In collaboration with their magazine, their traveling installation of Seletti housewares covers a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen with images that are both seductive and absurd—blood-red nail polish on formless women's fingers, cloudlike corn cobs of popcorn floating through space, and large-scale spaghetti noodles—on ostensibly every available surface, embracing both an Italian post structuralist and a 1950s American-housewife nostalgia.”

With the rise in popularity of the maximalist interior design trend, it's time to bring back the hues. Organized chaos characterizes a home's design as a reaction to clean minimalism, experimenting with colorful patterns, geometric shapes, and the imaginative juxtaposition of contrasts. Mastery of the ideas behind this movement might result in a surprisingly beautiful equilibrium between graphic excess and a pleasant ambience. The movement toward minimalism has affected home design in past years, from the sleek Instagram look to Scandinavian restraint and Marie Kondo's cleaning obsession. For many, reducing to the basics has been a valuable exercise in gratitude and awareness in the knotted jumble of items on the market.

Every evolution, nevertheless, is followed by a countertrend. It became evident during the pandemic, if not earlier, that having a variety of treasured objects in our homes may make them inviting and uplift our moods. There are no tight rules in this happy place, instead, colorful diversity is offered by things with human tales connected.

While other interior design trends typically promote a specific appearance, maximalism's allure resides in its nearly unrestrained freedom, going against the grain to allow for true originality and innovation. This can require a little of bravery, but at the same time, it reduces some of the stress to construct the perfect house in the precise Instagram style. The personal tale then takes over to keep the structured chaos together. In the furniture sector, the notion of narrative is becoming increasingly essential. The backstory, appearance, or heritage of an item are now important purchasing requirements for younger generations. Manufacturers must express their stories in order to stand out, which requires boldness.

List of Maximalist Projects

Hans Kotter’s light sculptures unite design, photography, and technology

The main objective of the works of German artist Hans Kotter is to give a novel perspective to physical spaces—parts of architecture that have never been seen or experienced before. Artists and audiences alike continue to be drawn to optical art accented with abstract forms and vibrant contrast. When the piece is hung on the walls or laid on the floor, it produces the sense of piercing depth and oscillating motions.

Adela Andea’s light installations reflect on organic and technological matters

For many people, the obvious alteration in the environment that is generating an unhealthy balance is still out of sight. Adela Andea, a Texas-based new media artist, has created dynamic light sculptures that illuminate these shifts. The organic shape of the works is provided by industrial electronic components such as light and plastic, which are constructed in incongruent architectures. The societal duty for research that can assure technological advancement and ecological balance is at the heart of her creative concepts. The artist seeks to merge the romantic notion of nature with the manmade aesthetic, inspired by nature, natural vs artificial conceptions, environmental challenges, and technology progress.

Chronometric sculptures by augmented reality veteran Marjan Moghaddam

*Baisser in Mary Boone, in Glassish and Waxish Glitch by Marjan Moghaddam*

Few artists better embody this than Marjan Moghaddam, who considers herself primarily a 3D CGI (Common Gateway Interface) artist and animator, but also works with animation, film, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), print, sculpture, and installation. "Since what I do is 3D, it's really output self - reliant" Moghaddam tells STIR about her work. "My exhibited and commissioned AR art, such as my work for the Smithsonian Museum, was born out of my existing 3D CGI practice, as well as the original and unique style of depictions that I am known for, primarily as a fine arts digital artist." The artist's figurative style is heavily influenced by sculptural and holistic ideas that have shaped classical art for millennia; however, Moghaddam not only accepts these ideas, but actively subverts them, primarily through the use of motion, mutating them to create vivid, captivating, and highly dynamic works.

*Image: ATYPEOFEDIT, Fendi | Graphic Edit: Franco Bugna*

Explorers, healers, activists, and visionaries are all terms used to describe artists. Maximalist art is necessary for speaking truth to power, dreaming with new realities, and ultimately changing the world. Even under quarantine, it's possible. Maximalist art serves a variety of functions, including provoking thought, challenging norms, reflecting on current events, and providing fuel for the idea. The previous two years have been difficult for humanity as a result of the pandemic. Maximalist art, on the other hand, was frequently used to generate positive sentiments. In recent years, the maximalist style has become more popular among visual artists. However, other methods have stayed focused on the use of grey tones or realistic dimensions. In the new normal, Maximalism Art will continue to move and inspire new generations of artists.

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*Graphic, strikingly colorful, and busy handwoven Yakan patterns evident in VESTI Babydoll 2.0 Mini Tote, available at:* *www.vestifashion.com*

Resources:

• Budds, D. (2020, February 28). Inside the powerfully expressive world of Maximalism. Curbed. https://www.curbed.com/article/maximalism-decor-trend-design-style.html

• Post-pandemic fashion: The return of Maximalism. (2021, September 22). MOJEH. https://mojeh.com/fashion/why-designers-are-turning-to-maximalism-post-pandemic-fashion/ • What does maximalism mean? (n.d.). Definitions.net. https://www.definitions.net/definition/maximalism

• Definitions.net. (n.d.). Definitions.net. https://www.definitions.net/definition/maximalismweb.archive.org/web/20200629120035/dict ionary.sensagent.com/Maximalism/en-en/

• Dragani, M. (2021, March 4). A return to Maximalism: How fashion fights back against COVID-19. L'Officiel USA. https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/maximalism-fashion-trend-covid-19-gucci valentino

• Why is the Maximalism design movement taking over the world? (aninteriormag.com) • https://artishockrevista.com/2020/06/28/the-role-of-art-in-times-of

pandemic/https://www.stirworld.com/see-features-artists-who-celebrate-maximalism-and euphoria-in-their-art