Why was the West so un-aesthetic during the Cold War?
because you are basing your opinion based on pictures that only capture the best of it
Consumerism is by nature unaesthetic.
t. aesthetics pro
>>1067955
>Cold war ended in the early 90's
Looks like I T S Y O U R M O V E Russia.
>>1067955
Compare commieblocks to western housing just to name one aspect. West clearly had better aesthetics.
>>1067975
> West clearly had better aesthetics.
>>1068004
>Death Wish tier urban decay
>not aesthetic as fuck
>>1067975
Suburbia is as unaesthetic as you can get
>>1067975
US public housing is just as bad as Soviet public housing
>>1068004
IMO old NYC was aesthetic in its own, gritty way.
>>1068004
Moscow Metro opened 10 years before the Cold War began, that's when all those pretty stations were built. Most of post-Stalin Moscow Metro stations look like picrelated.
Besides, communists completely raped esthetics by plastering brutalist shit and commieblocks everywhere. In almost every major Eastern European city (Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, Riga etc), the cool architecture was built BEFORE communism.
>>1068010
>"One entered the city like a god. One scuttles in now like a rat."
>>1068004
>Moscow Subway
>1935
>Cold War
>1945
Commies was the absolute madman.
>>1068033
Soviet architecture wasn't just brutalist. Despite all his violence, Stalin had a serious eye for aesthetics.
Kruschev embraced modernist architecture out of fear that the USSR seemed too old-fashioned, when compared to their capitalist rivals who had gone full modernist by the 1950s.
>>1068033
It wasn't a communist thing, it was the global trend against traditional aesthetics.
Modernist architecture is cheap, immediately identifiable, and sometimes easier to envision than other styles. This caused it to sweep the world by storm from the 40s and onward.
>>1068033
Yeah. From 1955 to 1970 was a worst time. They got slightly better after when decided to spent some more money.
>>1068059
Yes, Stalinist architecture is pretty fine. What followed during Khrushev, Brezhnev etc was just pure shit and a downright eyesore compared to the west.
>>1068025
Public housing in the US houses only a tiny fraction of society however, whereas commieblock apartments is where a huge chunk of East Europeans lived. And by huge chunk I mean over 50%.
I don't even know if it is shit or cool.
>>1068078
>Berlin
I'm sorry to break it to you anon but that part of Berlin was controlled by communists.
And Berlin is actually good example of what I'm talking about, you can directly see the contract between nice looking West Berlin and the commieblock ghetto that is East Berlin.
>>1067955
I would like to go out like this.
>>1067955
>1960s soviet couple.jpg
thats a helmut newton photoshoot, i.e. WESTERN FASHION
gj retard
>>1068051
You have to understand. Due to the nationalism and war trauma in the Balkans which preceded the SFRJ, these monuments could not be natural symbols, but abstract ones, to the point where they are just too abstract. They do have a nice aesthetic value i would say.
>>1068098
>nice looking West Berlin
Have you ever actually been there? Alexanderplatz is a fucking trainwreck of modernism and most of the rest is relatively unnotable apart from what was restored from the imperial days. Not saying the East is better, but Berlin is not a good example.
>>1068985
Fuck you, gommie :--DDD
>>1067966
Still more aesthetic than a suburban hive, desu. Comfy as fuck, as well.
>>1069043
Eat shit, fag. Berlin was arrested and reformed into an absolute cultural and ethnic abomination by the wars and occupation, bot by the east and west foreigners. If you want aesthetics, go to Vienna. Even the dirt poor of the Butthurt Belt is cozier and more aesthetic than Berlin.
I think we can all agree that there are instances where Brutalism looks pretty ok, but for the most part soviet architecture is absolute shit.
>>1069799
To be fair, the 60's and 70's were hideous all-around.
>>1068004
desu that moscow subway is tacky as f u c k
>>1067955
Because they were
>>1069808
You're right for the most part, but I don't know why but I fucking love the feel of 60's and 70's interior design (granted some can be completely ass ugly)
>>1069833
love this one as well, was done by Verner Panton
>>1068985
>Alexanderplatz
East Berlin pham
>>1069858
>>1069864
and an example of the 60's and 70's turning to liquid shit in design form.
>>1069821
>cherrypicking the picture
>>1067955
Time to cherrypick
![Jean-Shrimpton-And-Terrence-Stamp-London-1963[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/NvOGV9d.jpg "Jean-Shrimpton-And-Terrence-Stamp-London-1963[1].jpg")
>>1070023
Indeed
Why are Eastern bloc couples so dowdy?
>ynw have young Stamp aesthetics
The Russian avant garde experiments in architecture all died out by the 20s and constructivist architecture wasn't rediscovered until the 70s/80s and reappropriated by the likes of Hadid etc
>>1068051
what the fuck is that thing
>>1067955
That is quite clearly a Commonwealth pattern peaked cap. An Anglo officer and this stylin woman who just watched a Bardot movie.
>implying this look wouldn't land you in front of a moral court in the USSR
>>1069763
Commieblocks are probably one of the most depressing housing units that can exist
I grew up in one
>>1068034
rip
>>1070696
My God that's what they tore down? We had a metro station that looked like St. Peter's and they tore it down?
I always knew a lot of great stuff was torn down in the 70s but I had no idea that's what the Old Penn station looked like...can someone explain the mindset of that era to demolish stuff like this?
>>1067955
>un-aesthetic
American military in Vietnam was the most stylish in history....
>>1067955
Because oppressive stooges never look cool.
>>1070715
NYC made a heritage protection act right after they demolished this landmark.
People protested, but guys with money paid a ton to the lawmakers and they decided to build the Madison Square Garden stadium over it.
That's why I always cheer when the Knicks lose the game even if I'm a New Yorker.
Good news is that there is going to be a new Penn Station built starting in 2022 because the lease for MSG is going to be over in a few years. I wish they made an exact replica, but designers are going for a new look. This is one concept out of many.
>>1070494
>"soviet aesthetic"
>Helmut Newton photo taken for French Vogue
kek good job you piece of shit
>>1070715
From the 50's and on the government had a race against communism and anything that resembles it, so is logical they tried to stop any thinking that luxury can be a thing of the masses, only the reward of "individuality".
>>1070740
>>1070723
Everything you said made my teeth rattle
>>1070757
>>1070766
>>1068059
apparently the architecture was only meant as a kind of set piece to impress foreigners and inhabitants in general. the inside of these type of buildings were absolute shit
>>1070772
>>1070775
Remnants of the station was dumped in a landfill across the Hudson
>>1069867
>Hippy era
>Definitive period of Western culture and style
The sooner the 60's and 70's fade from living memory the better all of mankind will be.
>>1070740
disgusting...looks like hairy pussies
>>1070782
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
>>1070815
How about this one? Remember, there are dozens of redesign proposals; just Google it.
The problem right now is budgeting, and Democrats want a smaller more practical station while Republicans want a grander station that will be a landmark of NYC like the old station (but it will be tremendously expensive).
Pick your poison.
>>1070840
>>1070840
i'm a sucker for monumentalism so i'd go with the republicans on this one kek
>>1070851
Not a big fan of the ceiling. That's why the SHOP design was scrapped.
Personally, I wish they just remade the old design. It cannot be surpassed and that's what the people here wants. But politicians made it clear that it has to be "new"
>>1070855
Yeah, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Go big or go home.
Why is everyone here so fascinated by classical architecture? It is impractical, cost-inefficient, pompous and usually lacking in creativity. Do you need fixed cultural symbols (columns, arches, classical statues etc) to understand something as beautiful? Is this all due to nostalgia for a period where Western cultural supremacy was undisputed? If yes, then you should really just get over it, modern architecture is much more liberating and practical than what came before it.
>communist aesthetics
>>1068004
>never been through the NYC subway
some stations are fine as fuck
Grand Central being the obvious one.
>>1070876
1. It's /his/
2. Your sound like a Cultural revolution shill. "why do we need tradition? Progress is beautiful! Let's destroy half of China's palaces, temples, artwork, and send all artisans to death camps! Yay! China will never regret this!"
>>1068249
>>1070898
All Chinese citizens were rounded up by Red Guards and forced to burn old books, artwork, and in pic related, crash all family heirlooms such as ceramics.
Also, they'll burn the local temple as a bonus. Cultural revolution was THE worst thing to happen to China in terms of loss in history and architecture.
Red guards were going to burn the Forbidden city and build a huge Mao statue on top of it but the government sent troops to stop them.
>>1070898
Nah, not really, China has turned into a monstrosity the way it has handled capitalism. I'm obviously against ruining monuments of historical importance. That aside, the way everyone here worships classical architecture doesn't take into account how boring it ends up being. Vienna or Munich is great for a week or two, but after that there's not much left to see. On the other hand, Berlin, for example, albeit chaotic at times, has always something new to offer.
>>1070922
Looting and desecrating tombs of old kings
>>1070932
Fair point. I guess it's about taste (not a big fan of anything modern to be honest) and differing priorities (practicality vs muh history).
Classical architecture isn't a monolith; they all have periods and different style. To me, everything modern looks the same, while toy you, everything "classical" looks the same. It's taste.
>>1067955
I'm not 100% sure about the cap, but that's clearly a British army officer's overcoat.
>>1070922
The Red Guard did literally nothing wrong. Moved China from a backwards superstitious shithole to a fairly modernized nation - would have been even better had they gone further.
Power to the people,
>>1072405
It's a photoshoot for Vogue entitled explicitly referred to as "Soviet".
Both the people in the pic are models.
>ignoring 60s-80s aesthetic
Smh
No one had better style than the west.
>>1070723
>Literally the worst incarnation of the US military in every measurable regard
>"""The best"""
WW2 US military is top tier
>>1070740
That looks fucking retarded, everything about it is generic.
>>1073121
Note how he said "style", not "actual effectiveness, discipline, or morale".
>WW2
>not 1990's
baka desu
>>1073136
I was trying to say style by extension there but I guess that didn't really come through. I can see how the military in the 90s was more effective than it was in WW2 I guess.
>>1070887
>never been through the NYC subway
He's obviously a Russian, probably never even left his city and still lives with mamasha in a decaying apartment.
>>1070840
I'm not a fan of all the wasted space in the center. It would feel like the raised the roof on the current station but you're still confined to small walkways. It should be more spacious. If they want to put some lamps, chairs, or some other such divider on the floor to improve traffic flow, that would be fine.
>>1073145
>let's kill all the smart people
>let's make people who have never farmed or grown anything in their lives feed the entire nation with no backup plan
Maoism is literally so goddamn dumb
>>1069821
man that lad with the ppsh is loaded as fuck look at all those grenades and the nagant revolver hes wearing
>>1067955
70's decay is a top tier aesthetic tho
>>1070876
I like rocks. They're very pleasing to look at.
>>1072419
The biggest problem wasn't the cultural revolution; you find that kind of cultural lensing in Meiji japan too ("""bushido""""", emperor worship) . The problem with China was that Deng's opening was going to be accompanied by a spiritual and cultural restoration but Tiananmen put a stop to that.
>the Cold War West
>unaesthetic
I don't think so.
>>1070864
Penn Station is the biggest shithole
>>1070887
Grand Central isn't primarily a subway station.
>>1070876
If you believe what Arthur John of Bauhaus said, architecture reflects the society that built. That's why modern architecture of the 50s reflects the utilitarian/futurist attitudes of 50s. Postmodernism IMO reflects the surge in individualistic attitudes of the 70s/80s. Maybe Classicism represents a society that wanted to make buildings that reminded themselves of Greek and Roman ruins, buildings that are built to last, that even when they fall into ruin, still possess a form of melancholic beauty about them.
>>1069063
i second this, berlin is fucking shit, there is no common aesthetic, it's all individual buildings pasted into the city.
>>1070488
it's time to go home
>>1073145
Cambodia, but that's just because they took Maoism even further than China did.
>>1067955
Because nazis made stylish uniforms haram
>>1070740
Why is every new "grand" architecture such shit?
Is it the curse of post-modernism that we can't have buildings that actually look cool? Instead we have this shit. A glass box with vaginas on the roof
>>1073154
> leaving Moscow
Why would I? It is a best part of my country. It is like being the roman empire citizen and leaving a Rome.
>>1070960
>To me, everything modern looks the same, while to you, everything "classical" looks the same.
Same here. I always discover something new on 80+ yo buildings. Bas-reliefs and all those 'useless' details are fascinating to me. Modern buildings are all blocks of steel and glass with no identity, at least over here. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say they like them.
>>1068033
That's still got more aesthetic than NY.
>>1069867
Those previous three were leagues better than that steaming bucket of diarrhea.
>>1074505
Like I said, most people just want the rebuilding of the old station, but the guys in charge are all about "progress"
>>1070932
>>Berlin always has new turks and muslims to rape and rob you.
Fixed. Modern Berlin is a shithole and the architecture reflects that.
>>1069763
Go fucking fuck yourself you fucking fuck. Those have ruined countless lives. Spewing fucking shit you know nothing about to get across a cheap point your less knowledgeable on.
>>1069763
Man you're the biggest shit I've come across in my life. Never has a comment upset me so much hahah if it's bait then 10/10
>>1068025
Are people genuinely this retarded.
>>1067965
This completely.
>Why was the West so un-aesthetic during the Cold War?
The east dressed in cheap cotton padded 'vata' material giving rise to the vatnik meme.
>>1070775
Triggered.
