18.4 21 Maximalism and me
As part of my feedback for MF7004 Andrea and Ben used the word maximalism to describe my work.
Here are a couple of definitions of Maximalism in the arts that I have found:
'...maximalism in the arts is “a reaction against minimalism…an aesthetic of excess and redundancy.”' (Witowski, 2010)
'Maximalism, a term claimed to be popularized by the German artist Daryush Shokof in 1990, is - from what I can see - a reactionary art movement to the reductive and minimal works found in Minimalism. Maximalism is everything and anything, a chaotic mess of botanicals, filigree, silhouetted forms of the figure, it can be erotic, ironic, humorous, politically aware in it’s narrative, or it can be completely void of narrative. It can be surrealistic, realistic, symbolic, or purely decorative in its decadent visual jungle of stuff. In her book Maximalism: The Graphic Design of Decadence and Excess (2008), Charlotte Rivers describes how “maximalism celebrates richness and excess,” characterized by decoration, sensuality, luxury, and fantasy. In his Maximalist Manifesto (1991), Shokof explains that the movement is “open to wide views and visionary dimensions that can be fantastic, but not deformed.” Personally, I see the movement as one of visual delight that appeals to the senses – a complex state of work that demands the attention and interaction from the viewer.' (Duenas, 2010)
'...maximalism is a symptom of what Italian art critic Mario Praz called “horror vacui”—a fear of empty space. ... This filling of empty space has influenced artists from the scribes of ancient monasteries to modern graphic designers today.Today, that horror/desire is heavily influencing trends in fashion and interior design, as well as graphic design.' (Witowski, no date)
'Maximalism is a term used in the arts, including literature, visual art, music, and multimedia. It is used to explain a movement or trend by encompassing all factors under a multi-purpose umbrella term like expressionism. It describes a quality of excessive redundancy oft exhibited by way of the overt accumulation of appurtenances that reflect current society. In other references the term refers to either the ostentatious displays of the extensive possessions of the super-rich or the obsessive collecting as frequently found in the behavior of garage sale shoppers who accumulate common household goods past reason. The term maximalism is sometimes associated with post-modern novels, such as by David Foster Wallace and Thomas Pynchon, where digression, reference, and elaboration of detail occupy a great fraction of the text. It can refer to anything which is excessive, overtly complex and "showy", or providing redundant overkill in features and attachments, grossness in quantity and quality and maximalism the tendency to add and accumulate to excess. The movement of maximalism in reference to the arts was founded by the artist and filmmaker Daryush Shokof in 1990 in Cologne, Germany. Maximalism vis-a-vis the arts is a new way of creating art. Many common elements are shared in the art works by artists who participate in the maximalist movement. The movement was initiated by Daryush Shokof as he wrote in his one-man show catalog of paintings at Galleria Verlato in Milano, Italy in 1990; "Unbalancing the chaos = Balance = Life = Maximalism". Shokof wrote a lengthy manifesto with the title Maximalism. It was published in different catalogues of his one-man shows, as well as the maximalists' group shows in Europe and in the US from 1990 to 1993.' (Definitions, no date)
Definitions.net (no date) Maximalism Available at: https://www.definitions.net/definition/maximalism (Accessed 18 April 2021)
Duenas, M. (2010) Maximalism: the decadence of More is More Available at: http://melodyduenas.blogspot.com/2010/03/maximalism-decadence-of-more-is-more.html (Accessed: 18 April 2021)
Witowski, A. (no date) Make the most of Maximalism Available at: https://www.commarts.com/columns/make-the-most-of-maximalism (Accessed: 18 April 2021)
Here are a couple of definitions of Maximalism in the arts that I have found:
'...maximalism in the arts is “a reaction against minimalism…an aesthetic of excess and redundancy.”' (Witowski, 2010)
'Maximalism, a term claimed to be popularized by the German artist Daryush Shokof in 1990, is - from what I can see - a reactionary art movement to the reductive and minimal works found in Minimalism. Maximalism is everything and anything, a chaotic mess of botanicals, filigree, silhouetted forms of the figure, it can be erotic, ironic, humorous, politically aware in it’s narrative, or it can be completely void of narrative. It can be surrealistic, realistic, symbolic, or purely decorative in its decadent visual jungle of stuff. In her book Maximalism: The Graphic Design of Decadence and Excess (2008), Charlotte Rivers describes how “maximalism celebrates richness and excess,” characterized by decoration, sensuality, luxury, and fantasy. In his Maximalist Manifesto (1991), Shokof explains that the movement is “open to wide views and visionary dimensions that can be fantastic, but not deformed.” Personally, I see the movement as one of visual delight that appeals to the senses – a complex state of work that demands the attention and interaction from the viewer.' (Duenas, 2010)
'...maximalism is a symptom of what Italian art critic Mario Praz called “horror vacui”—a fear of empty space. ... This filling of empty space has influenced artists from the scribes of ancient monasteries to modern graphic designers today.Today, that horror/desire is heavily influencing trends in fashion and interior design, as well as graphic design.' (Witowski, no date)
'Maximalism is a term used in the arts, including literature, visual art, music, and multimedia. It is used to explain a movement or trend by encompassing all factors under a multi-purpose umbrella term like expressionism. It describes a quality of excessive redundancy oft exhibited by way of the overt accumulation of appurtenances that reflect current society. In other references the term refers to either the ostentatious displays of the extensive possessions of the super-rich or the obsessive collecting as frequently found in the behavior of garage sale shoppers who accumulate common household goods past reason. The term maximalism is sometimes associated with post-modern novels, such as by David Foster Wallace and Thomas Pynchon, where digression, reference, and elaboration of detail occupy a great fraction of the text. It can refer to anything which is excessive, overtly complex and "showy", or providing redundant overkill in features and attachments, grossness in quantity and quality and maximalism the tendency to add and accumulate to excess. The movement of maximalism in reference to the arts was founded by the artist and filmmaker Daryush Shokof in 1990 in Cologne, Germany. Maximalism vis-a-vis the arts is a new way of creating art. Many common elements are shared in the art works by artists who participate in the maximalist movement. The movement was initiated by Daryush Shokof as he wrote in his one-man show catalog of paintings at Galleria Verlato in Milano, Italy in 1990; "Unbalancing the chaos = Balance = Life = Maximalism". Shokof wrote a lengthy manifesto with the title Maximalism. It was published in different catalogues of his one-man shows, as well as the maximalists' group shows in Europe and in the US from 1990 to 1993.' (Definitions, no date)
Definitions.net (no date) Maximalism Available at: https://www.definitions.net/definition/maximalism (Accessed 18 April 2021)
Duenas, M. (2010) Maximalism: the decadence of More is More Available at: http://melodyduenas.blogspot.com/2010/03/maximalism-decadence-of-more-is-more.html (Accessed: 18 April 2021)
Witowski, A. (no date) Make the most of Maximalism Available at: https://www.commarts.com/columns/make-the-most-of-maximalism (Accessed: 18 April 2021)
But it's also about meaning.
'Combining different materials (creates) contrast, a form of opposition or conflict'. This balance is important in my practice, as is the provocation. It is also an exploration of the spaces between things, both literally and metaphorically, the boundaries.
In my statement for MF7002, Self and Other, I wrote:
'Process and time have been critical in both works too. Although the outcomes are very different the processes are similar. Each is labour-intensive, each records the passage of time (Bergson). Cumulative repetitive physical actions - knitting, ripping, writing, walking, tying, connecting, documenting - mark time and link the work to my body, but also to my conscious and unconscious mind, as automaticity (Czsiksentmihalyi, Wagner and Wheatley).'
Process is also part of my research, as a cycle of critical reflection; thinking through making.
Assemblage/collage:
I used the term 'assemblage' for the first time in thinking about my latest Parts of me. I envisage them as as separate parts, brought together in a particular way for a limited time. I imagine that each time I install them they'll be different. I feel that this is also part of the apparition in my work. Last week Andrea said of collage that it's 'made up of parts' - fragmented, deconstructed, precarious - and that resonated with me too. It's as if my assemblages are three- dimensional changeable, collages.