Have you heard maximalism is in and minimalism is out?
But what really lays behind the choice to clutter or cull?
Why do some people revel in collections of novelty eggcups?
One important reason for the clash between minimalism and maximalism is simple: the relentless pendulum swing of fashion.
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These things communicated their status through solid evidence of capital, connectedness, signs of exotic travel andcolonial power.
Think inherited antique cabinets and Chinese ivory animals.
For some modernists, needless decoration was a sign of an uncivilized (read feminine and non-white) mind.
They nevertheless also looked to primitive cultures for bold aesthetics and authenticity superior to western excess.
They had a point.
Without staff, what working person can, realistically, keep curated clutter looking cool (and clean)?
But, what about coziness?
That feeling, described in the 1990s as cocooningor providing a warm welcome to guests?
These layers would then be overlaid with decorations and texture, making symbolic entry points as well as enclosures.
But wasnt it all not just uncomfortable, but also a bit boring?
And, unfortunately, every bit as unforgiving without a lot of cash and a team of cleaners?
Modernism on the cheap is just depressing (seethe concrete blocks of 1960s UK council flats).
Sleek built-in cupboards cost a lot.
And smooth, unadorned surfaces show every speck of dirt.
Rebelling against modernist mantras,1980s designsought to put the fun back into function for sophisticates.
However, ordinary people were always buying fun stuff, from plastic pineapples to granny chic knick-knacks.
But its not really minimalist.
Minimalists strip this back to a minimum of objects with a neutral palette.
Fewer mistakes equals less chucking out.
Less stuff equals less to change when you tire of it.
But minimalism is more difficult than ever.
People who do achieve it frame their shots with care and they chuck a lot of stuff away.
Making a more elastic aesthetic look good is also difficult, maybe more difficult.
Clutter lovers range from sub-pathological hoarders, to upper-middle-class apers of aristocratic eclecticism, to ethical keepers.
An aesthetic mess can look like an accidental loss of human control, identity or hope.
It takes a lot to make harmony out of all that potential noise and keep it tidy.
And it hides behind the idea that anything goes, when in fact, maybe some things must.
