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The Art of Brutalism: Rescuing Hope from Catastrophe in 1950s Britain
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The Art of Brutalism: Rescuing Hope from Catastrophe in 1950s Britain Hardcover - 2017

by Ben Highmore

From the publisher

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.
Published in association with the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

Details

  • Title The Art of Brutalism: Rescuing Hope from Catastrophe in 1950s Britain
  • Author Ben Highmore
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition Hardback
  • Pages 304
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Paul Mellon Centre
  • Date 2017-09
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780300222746 / 0300222742
  • Weight 2.6 lbs (1.18 kg)
  • Dimensions 10 x 7.5 x 1 in (25.40 x 19.05 x 2.54 cm)
  • Library of Congress subjects Art, British - 20th century, Architecture and society - Great Britain -
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2016023268
  • Dewey Decimal Code 701.03

About the author

Ben Highmore is professor of cultural studies and a Leverhulme Major Research Fellow at the University of Sussex.

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