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Yes, but brutalism is anything but beautiful. It wouldn't make sense in an article showcasing cathedrals and statues to then say "here's a concrete eyesore that
by krapp 2y ago
Yes, but brutalism is anything but beautiful. It wouldn't make sense in an article showcasing cathedrals and statues to then say "here's a concrete eyesore that looks as if the concept of fascist bureaucracy manifested as a machine that feeds on human souls."
- em-bee 2y agothat's my point. brutalism is ugly. concrete without ornamentation is ugly. but concrete can look beautiful with ornamentation. it's not the concrete that makes brutalism ugly, but the lack of ornamentation. i didn't mean that the article should showcase brutalist examples, but where it talks about more modern architecture using less and less ornamentation, brutalism is the worst outgrowth of that, so i thought it would make sense to at least mention that.
- anta40 2y agoI assume brutalism is.... too "emotionless" or Sci Fi-ish (e.g Blade Runner)?
- medo-bear 2y agoBrutalism is anything but fascistic (social housing). In fact brutalism is the extreme emphasis of simplicity and minimalism through mathematical forms. Fascist architecture (and fashion and art in general) on the other hand is extremely ornamental. But in a world that quickly forgets what Nazism and Fascism really is you might be forgiven for your ignorance.
- PhilipRoman 2y agoFascists were surprisingly "progressive" in the original meaning of the word. Hitler himself was quoted saying that form follows function and if you look at the plans for their new capital, I would not call it particularly ornamented. I guess "imposing" would be a better description. It's a similar story with the more detailed blackletter fonts - "Your alleged Gothic internalization does not fit well in this age of steel and iron, glass and concrete" It is a big mistake to conflate traditionalism/conservatism with fascism/nazism, these movements were inherently modern, even when the majority of people under them were not (as is the case in most of the world - the politically active minority creates revolutionary ideologies which are then stripped down to only the essentials by the pragmatic masses).
- medo-bear 2y agoNazis and fascists were progressive in so far as they copied Bolsheviks (state control of the key sectors of economy and social programs). In fact they initially marketed themselves to the working class as socialists with nationalist and traditional values, as opposed to the cosmopolitan values of the communists. A lot of things are imposing but are not Nazi or Fascist. However Nazism and Fascism without traditionalism doesn't make sense. Both (especially Nazism) draw heavily on nationalistic mythology. This is not to say that traditionalism implies either Nazism or Fascism. That should be obvious. My point is that Brutalism has nothing to do with either Fascism or Nazism.
- marcosdumay 2y agoYou are saying the artist-wannabe that was the head of the German government copied his modernist preferences... from Russia?
- medo-bear 2y agoHitler was decidedly against modernism, including in architecture (read up on history of Bauhaus), preferring instead neoclassical architecture.
- barrysteve 2y ago[dead]
- rayiner 2y agoLove this characterization of brutalism.