Art & Society Fall 2015

There is a debate regarding the legitimacy of architecture as art

Growing up in Bed Stuy, there is no question

When the leaves start to transform and descend from the branches

And these Brooklyn streets are covered with them

When you look down Bainbridge or Halsey or Jefferson Ave 

To marvel at the beauty

Once autumn arrives

Around these amazingly, artfully constructed buildings

You know that these structures are truly masterpieces

That is the time of year when I see it the most

And those moments of me stopping in my tracks

On the way to wherever

Hastily or not

To take in scenes, I've enjoyed all my life

That still cease to amaze

Beautiful

Architecture, much like any other art form, capitulates a certain period or moment in history. Just as you can look at a Picasso piece and identify the period he created it, so can you with a building. Especially with buildings as historic as the brownstones in the very neighborhood I grew up in, many of which are actually certified historical landmarks. 

Brownstone was originally used in NYC architecture to front buildings that were built using more inexpensive stone and/or brick. Not many preferred it or considered it "desirable" until the romantic movement/era of the mid 1800's when a darker look was adopted. Both literally and figuratively. The purpose of these Brownstones being built were not to merely serve as reflections of personal taste but, more profoundly, as a reflection of the aesthetics of the time. A time when music, art, literature and even thought/intellect were in alignment in all of the Western world. You can look at the buildings and see the homage to the Middle Ages through the color palette and European inspired design; you can see the focus on the ghostly/mysterious through the faces and human figures (that fascinated me as a kid as I clutched my parents' hand on the way to school) sculpted in some of the oldest brownstones. This too is true with all forms of expression during the period these gorgeous structures were built. 

These brownstones fulfill out need and use of art in numerous ways. In regards to the list provided on the first day of class, these brownstones record and commemorate a specific movement/era. They were constructed and molded to resemble forms of the Middle Age, some even containing specific images and scenes. They are definitely extraordinary versions of homes. I'd argue that these structures gave tangibility to the feeling of the period which was centered around intensity and all things gothic. And lastly, it completely changed the look of many areas of the city and the way in which brownstone was viewed and utilized.