final major project - urban adventures
I started off this project with making a short film/music video containing clips filmed around London's known and more rural urban areas. It started off when I went out to take photos, I'd film the subject for a few seconds. I filmed people passing by in touristy areas of central London such as London Bridge, and other areas along the Thames. I then discovered my interest for moving image so started purposefully recording more. I stitched my clips together using iMovie and played it along side a song called 'Us against whatever' by Ghostpoet, and named the video 'Urban Adventures'. Whilst shooting around urban places in London I visited the Barbican centre and was captivated by the structure of the buildings. This lead me to conduct some research and discover brutalist architecture, and find other similarly structured buildings such as Trelick tower and Alexandra Road estate. Using my 50mm lens, I take close up photos capturing the receptive patterns that are created by the building's structure. I then edited the photos using lightoom, mainly increasing the capacity which gives the images a gritty finish adding to the already raw texture of the material. As opposed to simply printing out my photos, I wanted to present my final images on to a building material, due to my focus on brutalist architecture. I decided to try this technique of using image transfer glue to print photos on to wood. To do this, the glue needs to be painted on the front of the images printed out on to paper. They're then stuck face down on to wood, left over night and using a damp sponge, lightly scrubbed off. The harshness of the increased capacity whilst editing the photos, enabled the sharpness of the building's structure to shows up when transferred onto wood.
short film
brutalist architecture
Brutalism is a style with an emphasis on materials, textures and construction, producing highly expressive forms. Brutalist architecture is a movement in architecture starting from 1950s to the mid-70s, that is now seen by the modernist architectural movement during the 20th century. Designed partly to provide a sense of security in areas that had been bombed during WW2. The term ‘brutalism’ originates from the French word for raw, which used by the architect Le Corbusier to describe raw concrete (a material he frequently uses) called beton brut. Architects adapted this term and hence the movement ‘brutalism’ was formed.
True to it’s name, brutalist architecture has a brutal, harsh appearance containing many elements and layers to it. Brutalist buildings are normally formed with repeated modular elements that are positioned together creating mathematical shapes and patterns. Concrete is used for its raw and gritty textures, which reveal the basic form of its construction. Other materials that are commonly used for brutalist buildings include brick, glass, steel, rough-hewn stone and gabions.
London has some of the most influential brutalist buildings such as the Barbican, Trelick tower, the Brunswick Centre etc. Whilst going out taking photos, or even just walking around London I have developed an appreciation for architecture and building structure, particularly brutalism. The repetition of simple shapes form together to create geometric patterns and shapes fascinate me and cause perfect photos options that are effective as close up images.
True to it’s name, brutalist architecture has a brutal, harsh appearance containing many elements and layers to it. Brutalist buildings are normally formed with repeated modular elements that are positioned together creating mathematical shapes and patterns. Concrete is used for its raw and gritty textures, which reveal the basic form of its construction. Other materials that are commonly used for brutalist buildings include brick, glass, steel, rough-hewn stone and gabions.
London has some of the most influential brutalist buildings such as the Barbican, Trelick tower, the Brunswick Centre etc. Whilst going out taking photos, or even just walking around London I have developed an appreciation for architecture and building structure, particularly brutalism. The repetition of simple shapes form together to create geometric patterns and shapes fascinate me and cause perfect photos options that are effective as close up images.
nick rochowski
"Brutalist" is a series of abstract architectural studies based on instinctive, contemplative and explorative responses to spaces both positive and negative in dimensions. The project is unhindered by the objectives of outside direction, veering away from contextual and classical viewpoints of architecture and instead evolving from visual play in details. It looks at some of the last surviving, great, brutalist buildings in the UK. The palette of concrete and its interaction with light is embraced within the encompassing atmospheric surroundings. Subtle diffusion sits alongside deep black. The ideals of the materials are amplified upon first experience and this still moment is carefully observed in the technical camera. Lines and contours merge and separate as distances are skewed and distilled to flat, graphical landscapes. Unreachable spaces are explored and focused upon, backgrounds and foregrounds gain equal or opposite significance, scale and perspective are distorted. Through this lengthy contemplation of the environment and structure the series of images aims to give a new, personal depiction of the ageing architecture and offer new perspectives of these historically important buildings."
Nick Rochowski takes close up images of sections out of brutalist architecture. Photographing small sections of buildings creates an abstract piece in which the viewer cannot easily identify what it is. Rochowski focuses on the patterns that the building materials form, creating geometric patterns and sequences. The composition of his photos contain a variety of approaches to showing symmetry; either standard mirror symmetry or using repetition. His work inspired me to take abstract close up photos of sections of buildings, such as a corner of a barrier or pillar.
Nick Rochowski takes close up images of sections out of brutalist architecture. Photographing small sections of buildings creates an abstract piece in which the viewer cannot easily identify what it is. Rochowski focuses on the patterns that the building materials form, creating geometric patterns and sequences. The composition of his photos contain a variety of approaches to showing symmetry; either standard mirror symmetry or using repetition. His work inspired me to take abstract close up photos of sections of buildings, such as a corner of a barrier or pillar.
andy day
Andy Day is a photographer who combines portraiture and landscape photography by shooting people performing parkour jumps off building/nature of various forms. The series of photos that caught my attention were focusing on buildings designed using brutalist architecture. I like Andy Days use of experimental such as low angles shots, empathising the heights. The mundane texture and rawness of the buildings contrasts with the stimulating agility and skills of these extreme athletes.
Viera Levitt
The adjective ‘brutal’ seems antithetical to our concept of beauty. The word’s negative connotations may help explain why Brutalism, as an architectural style, has been so criticised; the exposed concrete aesthetic is, admittedly, not a style that is easy to love. However, recent years have seen a reappraisal of this challenging 20th century movement. Viera Levitt, a Slovakian-born photographer, strives to show the hidden beauty within Brutalism with a recent show in Rhode Island.The term is Brutalism derived from the French phrase béton brut meaning ‘raw concrete’, inspired by architect Le Corbusier. It is a divisive style, and Levitt explores the converse of the negative reactions invoked by Brutalism, depicting the style as inherently heroic in her photography.
Viera Levitt series and films of brutalist architecture interested me due to her ability to capture the beauty in small sections of typically un-appealing buildings. Similar to Nick Rochowski and Andy Day, her work varies from close up abstract sections of buildings, to wide angle shots. She too focuses on the patterns that repetition of shapes can cause.
Her photographs capture honey and molasses dripping down a Brutalist façade, injecting a sense of playfulness to what was previously a stern and unflinching architecture. So Brutally Sweet is able to showcase Brutalist building as something that is poignant and beautiful – something that is not immediately obvious to the casual observer.
Viera Levitt series and films of brutalist architecture interested me due to her ability to capture the beauty in small sections of typically un-appealing buildings. Similar to Nick Rochowski and Andy Day, her work varies from close up abstract sections of buildings, to wide angle shots. She too focuses on the patterns that repetition of shapes can cause.
Her photographs capture honey and molasses dripping down a Brutalist façade, injecting a sense of playfulness to what was previously a stern and unflinching architecture. So Brutally Sweet is able to showcase Brutalist building as something that is poignant and beautiful – something that is not immediately obvious to the casual observer.
the barbican
barbican set 2
I re-visited the barbican but took different styles of photos inspired by Nick Rochowski. Using my 50mm lens as opposed to my kit lens, I took closer up images of parts of the Barbicans structure, resulting in an abstract finish in which its hard to tell what section of the building the photo is taken of. This technique empathises the gritty texture and rawness of the simple but harsh composition of the architecture. However, as my final piece is printing images on to wood that will appear rough and faded, I decided photos of larger sections of buildings will show up more effectively, hence didn't continue shooting in this abstract style.
dalston
alexandra road estate
trelick tower
final piece
I picked my eight favourite photos from Trelick tower and Alexandra Road Estate and printed these onto a plank of wood using image transfer, and this is the result. Whilst scrubbing off the paper with a damp sponge, I made it rough around the edges causing a harsher appearance reflecting the focus on brutalist architecture.