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The art of brutalism: rescuing hope from catastrophe in 1950s Britain

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posted on 2023-06-09, 07:23 authored by Ben HighmoreBen Highmore
While most famously associated with numerous mid-century architects, Brutalism was a style of visual art that was also adopted by painters, sculptors, printmakers, and photographers. Taking into account Brutalist work by eminent artists such as Richard Hamilton and Eduardo Paolozzi, as well as lesser-known practitioners like Nigel Henderson and Magda Cordell , this volume focuses on a ten-year period between 1952 and 1962 when artists refused a programmatic set of aesthetics and began experimenting with images that had no set focal point, using non-traditional materials like bombsite debris in their work, and producing objects that were characterized by wit and energy along with anxiety, trauma, and melancholia. This original study offers insights into how Brutalism enabled British artists of the mid-20th century to respond ethically and aesthetically to the challenges posed by the rise of consumer culture and unbridled technological progress.

Funding

Out of Ruins: The visual culture of New Brutalism in 1950's Britain; G0875; AHRC-ARTS & HUMANITIES RESEARCH COUNCIL; AH/J007854/1

History

Publication status

  • Published

Publisher

Yale University Press

Pages

304.0

Place of publication

London

ISBN

9780300222746

Department affiliated with

  • Media and Film Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2017-07-26

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