The Art Of Brutalism

Brutalism is an architectural movement that proliferated during the 1950s until 1970s, right before during and after the arrival of Minimalism and pop art and still now is one of the center topics in contemporary debate for aesthetics and ethic in art and architecture. In order to understand and link this movement with the pop and minimalist art I selected few center figure of this movement: two of the leading figure in this movement were the British architects Alison and Peter Smithson. “Up to now,” wrote the Smithsons, “Brutalism has been discussed stylistically, whereas its essence is ethical." Ethics, here, is seen as a form of objectivity: “Any discussion of Brutalism will miss the point if it does not take into account Brutalism’s attempt to be objective about ‘reality’—the cultural objectives of society, its urges, its techniques and so on. Brutalism tries to face up to a mass-produced society, and drag a rough poetry out of the confused and powerful forces which are at work.” (Ben Highmore. October Magazine. “Image-breaking, God-making”: Paolozzi’s Brutalism. P. 94. May 31. 2011)

The attempt and idea of Brutalism to be adjective about 'reality' can be seen as an attempt to create architecture which reflected people needs and life style instead of creating something which would enable to direct people needs which was the ethic of the modernist that they contrasted.

I think the idea of reflecting people needs and life style can in a way be compared to Donald Judd idea of leaving the work to free interpretation without hidden meaning and Warhol straight foreword and clear interpretation of his Imagery. In terms of objectivity about reality I found a similitude in terms of materials as in the end building are made of ma...

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...In conclusion; an artist whom practice questions the notions of possible links between art and architecture is Liam Gilleck one of the most controversial and acclaimed contemporary artist of our time.

Gilleck's work questions the role of the contemporary art and artist as well as the use of different mediums and the notion of production opposed to consumption and also the art as leisure. Besides in the past his work as been strongly influence by the relationship between art and architecture and how those communicate and evolve one as the result of the other and how those are influenced by the public and vice-versa.

"The question really is how do you find a working method or a working, productive context within which ideas can be produced? And that's really the key." (Liam Gillick. Sotheby’s. Artdaily.org. MCA Chicago Show Three perspectives and a Short Scenario)