Project Evaluation - Wall, Page and Screen
Electronic Journal link/password: https://elenagalbusera.tumblr.com
Use the headings below as a guide and feel free to add to this and include images if you wish.
Project Title
How did this develop and what was involved in the decision making process?
I began to keep a record of the titles of the materials which related to my subject matter. I noted words which came to my mind while observing my photobook, once finished on InDesign. I intended to find the appropriate combination -a noun and adjective- that evoked the photobook’s content. Most terms were formal and vague, delineation, for example, implied the concept of outlines although did not necessarily recall the boldness of the design, aberration looked uncomfortable, and peculiarity banal. Omnipresent was somehow efficient as it could have suggested that Brutalism emerged worldwide but hinted an association with religion and God. The title of my photobook is archistructural brutalisation. While archistructural gives an insight of such Modern architectonical style, brutalisation refers to a process that inevitably happened within Brutalist Architecture, a relentless revolution that changed society since the 1950s. Concerning the design, this title fitted well the cover’s space and its geometrical letters enriched the aesthetics of the artwork.
Subject
Reflect on the subject matter of your project.
My project developed throughout a process of intensive inquiry into the historical, political and economic circumstances within the emerging of Brutalism. Since the 1950s this post-war architectural movement marked the first time in history when architecture aimed at producing ethical structures rather than complying with the standard aesthetical canons. In contrary to the ideals of Renaissance or Classicism, the fascine of concrete buildings stays in their functionality, versatility, efficiency, cheap and rapid construction. Whereas the years of Brutalism coincides with a period of political corruption, and its utilitarian complexes are often associated with ugliness, there’s much to the core than it seems. Brutalism, in fact, is the result of a sophisticated engineering and theoretical maths, which established the foundations of our modernised society. In light of this, the public owes to this style further attentiveness, especially in the present-day, considering all actions aimed at demolishing such cultural heritage.
Visual Research
Reflect on how key photographers / visual artists who are relevant to your project research have impacted upon the development of your project? Explain how they influenced your approach and what you learned from them.
Considering the roots Brutalism guided me to come across Le Corbusier[1]’s most loyal photographer, Hungarian born Lucien Hervé, whose chiaroscuro techniques inspired my practice. Relating to Hervé was crucial as his works present a geometry that influenced the imagery of my photobook. A variety of sources, including photobooks, images, illustrations and architectural sketches, enabled me to mature a sophisticated insight of the topic. The primary research at the RIBA[2] helped me to select Brutalist constructions and to discover materials which cannot be found online. The documentary Bunkers Brutalism and Bloody-mindedness[3]and the essay Ethics and Aesthetics: Photographic Approached to Brutalism [4] accompanied me in the contextual research, while the film Helvetica[5] nurtured my appeal for modernity and typography. By examining the typeface Helvetica, I developed my own aesthetic sensibility and distinctive style, characterised by strong cuts, shapes and significance of forms. Â
Aims, Objectives, Concept
Discuss your aims and objectives and the main concept for your project and evaluate how successfully these have been resolved.
archistructural brutalisation, as discussed in its editor’s note, aims at raising awareness of Brutalism’s overall extraordinariness. Its objective is to expand and disrupt the most common attributes associated with the subject. These notions have been carried out in the photobook through the adoption of a design that differs from the usual graphic of volumes concerning the topic. To elaborate on this, instead of solely presenting black and white photos of the complexes my project combines architectural illustrations with photographic prints and tailored designs. By considering the phenomenon from a different angle, these techniques incite the viewers to rethink their feelings towards Brutalism, as much as Brutalism itself stimulated post-war architects to rethink utterly architecture. The ultimate objective of archistructural brutalisation is to project an individual ideology of Modern architecture, to push the audience to confront their beliefs with mine, thus developing further considerations, rather than to deliver a universal outlook.
Production
Reflect on the specific production methods you have been exploring and how these approaches and visual strategies have affected your project development.
Scanning images from books allowed me to showcase exemplary instances of Brutalist architecture on an International scale. I downloaded vectors of abstract shapes which served as a foundation to create the design. By placing them on top of the InDesign document pages, I either reduced or increased them in size, flipped or rotated them, to follow a sequence of patterns while drawing forms with the pen tool.
The use of white text onto yellow backgrounds helped me to paradoxically create a compelling aesthetics and transmit a disturbing sensation, as the juxtaposition of both colours triggers a ‘pleasant’ discomfort in the reading process. Such is similar to the feeling that generates in the encountering of Brutalist structures. Using Oswald as a typeface conveys modernity to the design. Employing the black and yellow incorporates a sense of danger and recalls the viewers’ attention in a similar way of caution signs.
Presentation
How effectively have you communicated your ideas in relation to your identified audience and context?
Increasing the size of my photobook enabled me to reinforce my point, as a smaller artwork wouldn’t have valued the imposingness of Brutalist architecture. Shifting from the size of 160x220mm to 240x300mm helped me to highlight upon our unavoidable exposure to Modern Architecture. Inspired by the techniques of the exhibition Concrete Works[6], I opted for the thickest pages that perfect binding permits, so that I could evoke the heaviness of Brutalist structures. The imagery of the design encourages the public to individuate the force of Brutalist forms so that the rhythmic structuralisms of the style is seen from a captivating perspective. Besides, the editor’s note and foreword of archistructural brutalisation are tailored in their substance rather being excessively long.
Evaluation
Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your project and what you might do to improve it in the future?
archistructural brutalisation challenges the traditional perspectives claimed with Modernist approaches via embracing photo manipulation for ‘ethical’ purposes. The unconventional crops of the photographs, their position in the different spaces of the pages and the dominant design follow a coherent. The excluding of pages’ numbers and excessive text brings the viewers to focus on Brutalism’s distinctive traits. Nonetheless, the artwork lacks some contextual and historical writing. For example, I could have given further information about some of the buildings, their construction’s procedures, techniques, methods and purposes. Additionally, to improve my project in the future, I would plan out time more cleverly, use better quality prints and choose the technique of Coptic binding. The use of a hard or cardboard cover would resemble the raw sensation of the concrete whilst weighting upon its texture. Also, the pages would be thicker than perfect binding allows, and this would help me evoking the heaviness of Brutalist structures.
[1]The Swiss-French Architect, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier (1887-1965)
[2]Royal Institute of British Architects
[3]Meades, J. (2014). Bunkers, Brutalism and Bloody-mindedness: Concrete Poetry (BBC4).
[4]Jankov, S. (2018, forthcoming). Ethics and Aesthetics: Photographic Approaches to Brutalism, in Metlić, D., Photography as a Method for Visual Research.
[5]Hustwit, G. (2007). Helvetica.
[6]Concrete Works, Aedes am Pffefferberg, Berlin, Dec 2009 - Jan 2010
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