John Brack The Built World

In this unit, ‘The Built World’ focuses around the man-made structures that appear in our daily lives. It showcase how these environments represent the importance of our culture. The purpose is to remind oneself to acknowledge the structures and symbols that we are surrounded by. Artist uses different techniques to create their own representation of ‘The built world’. As a result, it helps to construct a connection between the viewer and the artwork. An Australian urban life painter, John Brack, uses the people and life of Melbourne as his subjects in his paintings. “John Brack emerged during the 1950s in Melbourne as an artist of singular originality and independence.” (Brack, 2018) Collin St, 5pm was one of Brack’s many creations. It is

an oil on canvas artwork that was made in 1955. In this artwork, Brack has constructed his own depiction of ‘The built world’ by incorporating surroundings that are seen in his daily life.
Collin St, 5pm is a painting that is set in Melbourne’s financial centre club.

The illustration of the crowd represents the busyness of Melbourne Australia after a typical day of work. This 114.8 x 162.8 painting features a plain, boring, and almost dead like landscape along with emotionless office workers, uniformly heading towards home. Referred to the NGVs, “Inspired by his own experience employed by a city-based insurance company, Brack points to the enduring presence of the individual by personalising each figure…” (Brack, NGV, 2018) This painting is divided into 3 sections, they are, foreground midground and background. The isolated tree along with the street lamp can be depicted on each side of the painting, locating at midground. Dull colours are used, which helps to enhance the sense of drudgery of nine to five office life. There are details of patchy gradients, but the overall artwork looks smooth, precise and

neat.
Dark and muted colours such as brown, yellow, and black are used to emphasis the dead city environment. It has also enhanced the tiresome expressions displayed on the workers face. The repetition of the workers suggests the urge of rushing back home, furthermore, it had also showcased the busyness during the peak time of 5pm. The overall use of colours are similar however, it did not detract the audience from finding the focal point. Brack has cleverly manipulated the colours to differentiate the focal point from the background by muting the background colours and adding in yellow toned colours towards the front row of the workers. Thus, the audience attention is led around by the reiteration of workers, due to its foreground positioning. Additionally, Brack has included details like the old fashion clothing and the drawing of the street lamp, to portrays a vibe of the 1950s. The illustration of the buildings gives a visualised depiction to the audience of what the Melbourne urban environment appears to be like.
‘The Built World’ is evident in Brack’s work of Collin St, 5pm through the techniques and elements that Brack has incorporated in his artwork.

To artists ‘The Built World’ is about creating a connection from where you live with the audience. Stated in The Art Gallery Of NSW: “The painting illustrates the artist’s strategy of drawing viewers into his work by positioning them as direct and close observers of his subjects rendered in acid sharp colour.” (Brack, 2018) Brack had communicated with the viewers by integrating the repetition of workers, and also painting the windows dark to portray the unenergized urban life. Brack deliberately illustrated the isolated tree and the antisocial like workers to symbolise the loneliness of the city. Moreover, the use of repetition have assisted Brack to communicate with the audience that Collin St is one of the busiest St of

Melbourne.
Brack’s technique used in Collin St, 5pm are effective and has communicated with the viewers his intended meaning. Brack’s artwork has encapsulated the busy lifestyle of Melbourne during 5pm. In his work, he wanted to showcase the tired life of office workers after working from 9 to 5. Thus, he had illustrated the blank facial expressions and had also used muted colours to enhance the mood. Repetition portrays an important role in the painting as it shows the busy life during the peak hour of 5 pm. it has also communicated with the audience that Collin St is a occupied place. In addition, Brack has constructed his own depiction of ‘The Built World’ and has communicated with the viewers his initial meaning.