Under The Dome: Pt. 2

I think you can see where I'm going with this. If you live in Western New York, you can see EXACTLY where I'm going with this. The gray days are over. Let's put some color on this baby.

Almost every revolutionary building or artwork was shunned, derided and hated before it was loved and revered. I grew up despising Brutalism and the likes of the Shoreline Apartments. But as I've been studying the art and architecture of the mid-20th century, I have come to understand that we must protect the truly revolutionary until their importance can fully be understood. Anyone who's parked in the lot that was once the Frank Lloyd Wright Larkin Administration building understands that. Take a minute to fill out the petition. Thanks.

https://www.change.org/p/mid-century-modern-buffalo-preserve-paul-rudolph-s-shoreline-apartments-in-buffalo-ny?recruiter=166688124&utm_source=share_sponsor_thank_you&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=facebook_link&fb_action_ids=10205793561091968&fb_action_types=og.shares

The origin of Brutalism is fascinating, and I recommend doing a little research, particularly if you are NOT a fan. Buffalo has a high concentration of buildings in the style, including the convention center, the bus station and the small boat harbor. They are cold, monolithic and devoid of humanity. They were also inexpensive to construct and maintain. The roots of the style goes back to before World War II, but the aftermath of war made the style necessary.

Artvertising

Well, it's been a pretty boisterous response to the latest kerfuffle regarding Buffalo's waterfront development. One afternoon riding back to Hamburg I saw them painting one of Buffalo's historic grain elevators, turning it into a giant six-pack of beer. You love them, you hate them. It's art, it's advertising. It's fun, it's an abomination.

If nothing else, it's noticeable. This view is from South Park by the Michigan Avenue lift bridge.

Local artist A.J. Fries posted his support for the paint job on Facebook. The response was a breathless, sweaty, fist pounding argument about what is art. I suggested that, had the paint job been done in 1930, people would be chaining themselves to them to preserve it as art; if this was 1930, people would be screaming to have the thing repainted.

Is it art? Absolutely not. Is it advertising? Yes. Is advertising art? Yes, definitely. Is this, then, art? Oh, of course! See how it goes.

So, if this is not art, but advertising, and if advertising is art, then what of a print of a vehicle (whose design can certainly be regarded as art), the sole purpose of which was to advertise? Is the print advertising? Is it art?

Or is it just awesome?