Iakov Chernikhov

Iakov Chernikhov is a Russian constructivist architect and graphic designer, the illustrator of 101 Architectural Fantasies, one of the only avant-garde art books published in the eastern bloc during the Stalinist era. he was born in 1889, in Pavlograd, Yekaterinenskav Gubernia, Ukraine (now Dnepropetrovskaya Oblast - i can't pronounce these names). in 1904 he left Pavlograd for Odessa and became a student at the Odessa Art School, a branch of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. his teachers were G. A. Ladyzhenskii and K. K. Kostandi, both leading artists of the South Russian School.

to earn his living, young Chernikhov did some common student jobs, one of them was an assistant architect employed to design and construct the Odessa Exhibition, during which he mastered various aspects of graphical design. this period became the most significant for the formation of his creative personality and it was in Odessa that the distinctive style of Iakov Chernikhov took shape. in 1912 he became interested in the art of drawing, in graphics, and began his work on a course in ornamental drawing, which gave direction to his subsequent creative searches. that same year he began his pedagogical activity, which he would continue until the end of his life.

for other images visit the Iakov Chernikhov International Foundation website

Brutalism!

Brutalism is an Architectural style or philosophy which was quite 'in' in the mid-20th century and it was often associated with socialist utopian ideology. some say it was a response to the glass curtain walls technology that was developed few decades earlier and was overtaking institutional and commercial architecture in the 60's. this threatening term was coined in 1954 by the english architects Alison and Peter Smithson and it refers to the french phrase 'béton brut' (raw concrete) used by Le Corbusier to describe the exposed concrete with which he constructed many of his post war buildings. the term became popular when the British architectural critic Reyner Banham used it in the title of his 1966 book, The New Brutalism: Ethic or Aesthetic?. the advantages of concrete: low price and speed of construction together with technological development of casting and plasticity made Brutalism into a quite common style, especially in the heavily bombed european cities and developing countries. the striking repetitive geometry with the rough blocky appearance continued to flourish also in the 70's and the 80's, mainly in the east block, where some amazing examples still decorate its landscape.

the upper image is 'Druzhba Holiday Center Hall' ,Yalta, Ukraine, (1984). architect Igor Vasilevsky. Soviet era hotel that was considered by the CIA as some strange military object. the lower image is the Roads Ministry building, Tbilisi, Georgia, (1975) architects Gorge Chakhava and Zurab Jalaghania. images: Frederic Chaubin