Hyperformalism is a neologism that names something, distinguishes some observable social and cultural phenomenon. The term suggests a use for the word to describe formalist abstraction created in a hyper medium such as abstract 3D digital space or pure mathematical space.
Postmodern wisdom would have it that culture has fractured irreparably into a multiplicity of niches and that the metanarrative is passé. While I believe the former, the latter is still not true. The metanarrative is immortal, vulnerable only to another more contemporary story. Even the most pernicious and despicable narratives suffer memetic bit rot in deep historical time.
It could be said that all art movements are neologisms naming something perceived by a writer/theorist unraveling the meaning of a cultural production phenomenon. Something becomes clear and they just make up a good word for it.
Hyperformalism is part marketing message and part signifier of a broad based cultural phenomenon, both jargon, artwork and critical construct describing a certain relevant set of qualities that differentiate a spontaneous response to new creative and technical possibilities available to a critical mass of people.
Digital imaging software is all about depth. The goal has always been to immerse the viewer and create a plausible construct to train pilots, visualize architecture and model the environment. The deliberate act of using these 3 axis visualization tools for pure spatial aesthetics is widespread. When people get a tool they tend to noodle around. A powerful modeling, lighting and rendering tool in the hands of an eager and uninhibited enthusiast can sometimes result in stunning spatial experiences that transcend politics, ideology and anthropocentric concerns. Hyperformalism in the larger sense is the result of the joy of creative exuberance, form without concept or overt message.
This does not make it void of sentiment in net effect. Artfully conceived spatial form without overt ideology opens up the chance to induce a deeper wonder similar to the witnessing of a profound sight in the natural world like puddle ripples, ocean waves or the Grand Canyon. Each of these phenomena might be distilled into a special algorithm that describes its spatial and rhythmic dimensions. Some algorithms will be more regular and some more chaotic, some more overtly symmetrical and some more arbitrary and arcane.