As we discussed in class, I think the Baroque style is making a comeback with the maximalist movement in many different genres–fashion, decoration, art, even typography. So many of these genres have been ruled by minimalism or modern design for decades, colored beige and white and accented with steel or concrete. I think the average person sees this the most with modern construction, and looking around midtown Atlanta while visiting the High Museum, one can see buildings just keep going up in orthogonal, right-angle concrete-and-glass-box style. I used to be really enamored with the simplicity of minimalism, but seeing trends change in fashion and art (and also decorating my own room at college and realizing minimalism is NOT for me) I think the pendulum has swung the other way. Maximalism is returning on the internet, and trends have leaned into the colorful, busy, textured and layered style.
I think maximalism embodies Baroque because of two things; one, Baroque was developed by breaking the rules and changing the classics to become more fluid, experimental, and fun, and maximalism does exactly that with the conventions of modern design. Two, it’s just MORE of EVERYTHING, just like Baroque! More colors, more gilding, more movement and dynamism, more detail and fantasy. I’m looking forward to see how maximalism changes the landscape of trends in the near future. For fun I’m going to link a couple TikTok videos that I’ve seen maximalism through lately.