Since the turn of the twentieth century; the American built landscape has epitomised modernity. From towering skyscrapers; movie theatres; theme parks; shopping malls and factories; to mass-produced; moderate-cost housing; both iconic and generic examples of American architecture have become quintessential images of modern life. In this new volume in the "Modern Architectures in History" series; Gwendolyn Wright contends that American modern architecture is not merely a branch of the European Modernism brought across the Atlantic Ocean with European emigres; but rather an exciting hybrid of cultures; sensibilities and style. From the neo-Gothic aftermath of the American Civil War to the Art Deco that flourished in the 1920s; to postmodernism and the major new projects of today; Wright investigates how each movement reflects the social and political issues of its time. She takes full account of how architects in the US have had to share their domain with clients; financiers and politicians; media and advertising interests; an ambitious middle class of consumers; and upwardly mobile workers and immigrants; and consequently how they developed an architecture that was and remains diverse; contentious; competitive and creative. Wright applies this understanding to a number of famous and lesser-known buildings across America; and explores popular trends as well as public responses to architecture. Ultimately; she reframes the history of American modern architecture as a constantly evolving sensibility that reshapes a richly diverse melange of ideas into something uniquely American. An insightful; concise and richly illustrated account of American design and culture; this timely book will be essential for all those interested in architecture and its place both in contemporary America and the world.
#789324 in eBooks 2005-09-01 2005-09-01File Name: B005C72WSE
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Three StarsBy Bonnie CheneyNot impressed with this book. May work for others but not me0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Mark SchneiderMy bible for painting.2 of 14 people found the following review helpful. Another waste of money.By J. BeaulieuI should by now know better than to buy Walter Foster books.This one "teaches" you to work in acrylics in 15 pages. DUH?Nobody can learn to do anything by reading 15 pages.The only thing good I can say about this book is that it has one or two examples that I may end up trying.The truly ridiculous part of the books "examples" for you to paint in acrylic are almost all ANIMALS.I love animals; I have 5 cats. But simply DRAWIING an accurate portrait of ANY animal [homo sapiens included] is a very difficult task that should only be undertaken by people who are very proficient in drawing. And normally. if youre going to paint in any medium. you work up a pencil sketch FIRST.Acrylics dry very. very quickly. Sure. if you goof up. you can paint over the goof. but the potential for gazillions of errors. presuming one is trying to render animals as closely to life drawing as possible. Its a slow. laborious process. regardless of life-drawing as possible in any medium. And its particularly difficult in acrylics because of the quick-dry nature of the paint.If youre new to painting. get some water-based oils. which will free you from toxicity problems for the most part. and render animals in THAT medium. Oils take a long time to dry. and although water-based oils dry faster. they still dry very slowly.There are a few good points made in this book. but it certainly isnt worth the price of the book.And Im never buying any Walter Foster art books again.
