|
|
|
Le Corbusier: A Life
From acclaimed biographer and cultural historian, author of Balthus and Patron Saints—the first full-scale life of le Corbusier, one of the most influential, admired, and maligned architects of the twentieth century, heralded is a prophet in his lifetime, revered as a god after his death.
He was a leader of the modernist movement that sought to create better living conditions and a better society through housing concepts. He predicted the city of the future with its large, white apartment buildings in parklike settings—a move away from the turn-of-the-century industrial city, which he saw as too fussy and suffocating and believed should be torn down, including most of Paris. Irascible and caustic, tender and enthusiastic, more than a mercurial innovator, Le Corbusier was considered to be the very conscience of modern architecture.
In this first biography of the man, Nicholas Fox Weber writes about Le Corbusier the precise, mathematical, practical-minded artist whose idealism—vibrant, poetic, imaginative; discipline; and sensualism were reflected in his iconic designs and pioneering theories of architecture and urban planning.
Weber writes about Le Corbusier’s training; his coming to live and work in Paris; the ties he formed with Nehru . . . Brassaï . . . Malraux (he championed Le Corbusier’s work and commissioned a major new museum for art to be built on the outskirts of Paris) . . . Einstein . . . Matisse . . . the Steins . . . Picasso . . . Walter Gropius, and others.
We see how Le Corbusier, who appreciated goverments only for the possibility of obtaining architectural commissions, was drawn to the new Soviet Union and extolled the merits of communism (he never joined the party); and in 1928, as the possible architect of a major new building, went to Moscow, where he was hailed by Trotsky and was received at the Kremlin. Le Corbusier praised the ideas of Mussolini and worked for two years under the Vichy government, hoping to oversee new construction and urbanism throughout France. Le Corbusier believed that Hitler and Vichy rule would bring about “a marvelous transformation of society,” then renounced the doomed regime and went to work for Charles de Gaulle and his provisional government.
Weber writes about Le Corbusier’s fraught relationships with women (he remained celibate until the age of twenty-four and then often went to prostitutes); about his twenty-seven-year-long marriage to a woman who had no interest in architecture and forbade it being discussed at the dinner table; about his numerous love affairs during his marriage, including his shipboard romance with the twenty-three-year-old Josephine Baker, already a legend in Paris, whom he saw as a “pure and guileless soul.” She saw him as “irresistibly funny.” “What a shame you’re an architect!” she wrote. “You’d have made such a good partner!”
A brilliant revelation of this single-minded, elusive genius, of his extraordinary achivements and the age in which he lived. .
Price: $25.99
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change
|
|
The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry
This thorough revision renders the remarkable range of styles, subjects and voices in English language poetry, from Walt Whitman and Thomas Hardy in the late 19th century to Carol Ann Duffy and Sherman Alexie in the 21st. With 195 poets and 1596 poems, the volumes richly represent the major figures: Yeats, Frost, Stevens, Williams, Hughes, Olson, Bishop, Larkin, Plath; Rich; Heaney and Walcott amongst others. It also gives full voice to post colonial and transnational poets, ethnic American poetries, experimental traditions and the long poem. Each volume concludes with a poetics section that provides essential contexts for reading the poems..
Price: $41.25
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism
Pivotal member of the Metaphysical Club, author of The Varieties of Religious Experience, older brother of extraordinary siblings Henry and Alice, the remarkable William James put an indelible stamp on psychology, philosophy, teaching, and religion -- on modernism itself. In this thought-provoking and moving biography, James emerges as an immensely complex and fascinating man. Through passionate scholarship, Robert D. Richardson illuminates James's life and hugely influential works: the Varieties, Principles of Psychology, Talks to Teachers, and Pragmatism. At last, in this definitive work William James is given his due as a man whose influence resonates in innumerable areas of modern life..
Price: $2.65
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
Modernism: The Lure of Heresy
celebration of subversives: the first one-volume history of the greatest cultural movement since the Enlightenment
Peter Gay's most ambitious endeavor since Freud explores the shocking modernist rebellion that, beginning in the 1840s, transformed art, literature, music, and film with its assault on traditional forms. Beginning his epic study with Baudelaire, whose lurid poetry scandalized French stalwarts, Gay traces the revolutionary path of modernism from its Parisian origins to its emergence as the dominant cultural movement in world capitals such as Berlin and New York. A work unique in its breadth and brilliance, Modernism presents a thrilling pageant of heretics that includes (among others) Oscar Wilde, Pablo Picasso, and D. W. Griffiths; James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and T. S. Eliot; Walter Gropius, Arnold Schoenberg, and (of course!) Andy Warhol. Finally, Gay examines the hostility of totalitarian regimes to modernist freedom and the role of Pop Art in sounding the death knell of a movement that dominated Western culture for 120 years. Lavishly illustrated, Modernism is a superlative achievement by one of our greatest historians. 92 illustrations, 16 pages of color..
Price: $19.97
[Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
Modernism Reborn: Mid-Century American Houses
In the first book of its kind, architectural critic Michael Webb and Esto photographer Roger Strauss III examine 35 extraordinary modern houses that have been restored, enhanced, or extended by new owners who see them as timeless classics. Built in the heyday of modernism, from the 1930s through the early 1960s, these houses were designed by exceptional architects for themselves or for adventurous clients. A few were lovingly preserved as time capsules, but most endured years of neglect or abuse and might easily have been torn down. Webb explores how these houses were created--as daring experiments or as creative responses to site and climate--and here are villas that fuse craft and invention, machines for living, and residences that embrace the landscape. Here, too, are houses inspired by the purity of classical temples, and frugal dwellings that have been sensitively enlarged. After a long eclipse, these houses and the enlightened attitudes they embody are being rediscovered by creative individuals searching for distinctive, open, light-filled places to live. Modernism is a way of living, more than a style, and this book celebrates the architects and owners who respect its character and scale. Also included are nearly 200 photographs taken by Roger Strauss, all of which were specially commissioned for this book. .
Price: $24.28
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
Danish Modern
For serious furniture collectors, Danish is more than a pastry-it's an art form. Twentieth century Danish furniture design is simple and clean., mixes well with other design styles, and has an inherent value and history beyond its beauty. In Modern Danish, Andrew Hollingsworth explores the history of Danish design, from the earliest cabinetmakers' guilds in the 1770s through the impact of two world wars, and its evolution into the twentieth century. The book includes photographic surveys of Danish Modern furniture in homes across the Unites States; a market guide with tips, facts and resources that includes discussions of veneer vs. solid wood, places to find Danish Modern furniture, and a guide to caring for it; and an extensive resource section. (20081019).
Price: $19.95
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
Understanding David Foster Wallace (Understanding Contemporary American Literature)
|
|
God in the Gallery: A Christian Embrace of Modern Art (Cultural Exegesis)
Is contemporary art a friend or foe of Christianity? Art historian, critic, and curator Daniel Siedell, addresses this question and presents a framework for interpreting art from a Christian worldview in God in the Gallery: A Christian Embrace of Modern Art. As such, it is an excellent companion to Francis Schaeffer's classic Art and the Bible. Divided into three parts--"Theology," "History," and "Practice"--God in the Gallery demonstrates that art is in conversation with and not opposed to the Christian faith. In addition, this book is beautifully enhanced with images from such artists as Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Enrique Martínez Celaya, and others. Readers of this book will include professors, students, artists, and anyone interested in Christianity and culture..
Price: $11.08
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
|
|
|