Modernism and Australia
Art, Design and Architecture 1917-1967
The Miegunyah Press
Will be published approx. on 1. February 2007
Book
Paperback/Softback
600 pages
978-0-522-85289-9 (ISBN)
Description
This first anthology of modernist art, design and architecture in Australia reveals the raw nerves that modernism exposed and highlights the role of migrants, expatriates, travel and mass reproduction in the reception of modernism in Australia. In more than two hundred documents - talks, letters, fiery debates, public manifestoes and private diaries - the main players of the time (1917-67) convey in their own words the tensions, aspirations and paradoxes behind the reception of modernism. Each document is put in context and accompanied by expert commentaries from the editors. The collection overturns many key assumptions about Australian culture, revealing not a 'time-lag' in reception, but an up-to-date engagement with the latest overseas trends and developments. It shows a surprising acceptance of modernism in the commercial realms (design, fashion, interior decoration), yet chronicles the dogged institutional resistance that greeted modernism, particularly in the fine arts.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Carlton
Australia
Publishing group
Melbourne University Press
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
sewn/stitched
Dimensions
Height: 232 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 51 mm
Weight
1383 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-522-85289-9 (9780522852899)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Between 2003 and 2006 the editors, working on an Australia Research Council grant, produced and co-edited Modernism and Australia- Documents on Art, Design and Architecture 1917-1967 (Miegunyah Press, Carlton, Vic., 2006; 2nd edn, 2007), which was awarded Best Art History Book, Art Association of Australia and New Zealand, 2008. Dr Ann Stephen is an art historian and curator at the Powerhouse Museum. She is the author of On Looking at Looking- The Art and Politics of Ian Burn (Miegunyah Press, Carlton, Vic., 2006); co-author of The Necessity of Australian Art (Power Publications, Sydney, 1988); editor and co-author of Pirating the Pacific- Images of Travel, Trade and Tourism (Powerhouse Publishing, Sydney, 1993) and Visions of a Republic- The Work of Lucien Henry (Powerhouse Publishing, Sydney, 2001). Stephen is principal curator of Modern Times- The Untold Story of Modernism in Australia exhibition. Philip Goad is Professor of Architecture at the University of Melbourne. Internationally known for his research and publications on modernism and Australian architecture, he is the author of Melbourne Architecture (