Where's My Space Age?: The Rise and Fall of Futuristic Design
by Sean Topham
Our Price: $53.72
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $8.50 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Sean TophamEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-05
ISBN: 3791328441
Number of pages: 160
Publisher: Prestel Publishing
Book Reviews of Where's My Space Age?: The Rise and Fall of Futuristic Design
Book Review: From outer space to inner space
Summary: 5 Stars
I had this book for a while, I bought extra copies to give as gifts. We know we don't have flying cars and we haven't colonized space (it's just a bunch of rocks out there anyway...). But reading this book is like a trip to the past you forgot you had. Sure, you don't recognize most of it but once in a while you see something that is familiar. For me: the tulip chairs, the round TV set, the modular homes in France. The other fascinating piece is this journey from outer space where all is plastic-y, cold, functional, alienating and artificial, to these living spaces that feel organic, soft, suffocating and confining. I am glad we have neither, I look out my window and see my garden and the woods, I see my simple wood and leather furniture. The future in this book is frightening and inhuman: I am glad it did not happen.
Summary of Where's My Space Age?: The Rise and Fall of Futuristic Design
The author of "Blowup" goes back to the future to follow the evolution of space-age design: from its optimistic conception in the 1950s to its decline in the 1970s and its retro-revival today. The Soviet-American race to the moon ignited a world-wide obsession with outer space and futuristic living that was manifested in the era's architecture, design and popular culture - and reflected in everything from furniture to postage stamps, fashion to children's toys. With hundreds of illustrations, Sean Topham reveals the countless ways the galactic frontier invaded every aspect of daily life: in household objects and "haute couture", advertising and comic books, plastics and interior design, private homes and public buildings. He explains how artists' conceptions of the future influenced history and were in turn shaped by events for decades to come. As Topham charts the rise and fall of futuristic design through the work of Eero Aarnio, Joe Colombo, Verner Panton, Pierre Cardin, Courreges, Paco Rabanne, Archigram, Haus-Rucker-Co, Matti Suuronen, John Lautner and Adrian Frutiger, among many others, he reveals how the era's euphoric energy gave way to a more anxious uncertainty. He also questions whether today's passion for futuristic design is purely retro-chic or the dawning of a new fascination with space-age culture.Arts & Photography Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Arts & Photography Books
The Interpersonal Communication Book, 10th Editionby Joseph A. DeVito
Allyn & Bacon; Published: 2003-03-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.46
Price in other shops:
What Good Are the Arts?by John Carey
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2010-02-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.61
Price in other shops:
Surrational Images: PHOTOMONTAGESby Scott Mutter
University of Illinois Press; Published: 1992-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.82
Price in other shops:
Printing with Adobe Photoshop CS4by Tim Daly
Focal Press; Published: 2009-05-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.46
Price in other shops:
Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativityby Michelle Bates
Unknown; Focal Press; Published: 2006-10-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.99
Price in other shops:
The Humanistic Tradition, Book 1: The First Civilizations and the Classical Legacyby Gloria Fiero
McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; Published: 2010-01-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $31.96
Patternmaking for Fashion Design (5th Edition)by Helen Joseph Armstrong
Prentice Hall; Published: 2009-10-26; Hardcover-spiral; Book
Best price: $94.00
Price in other shops:
Walking the Bible: A Photographic Journeyby Bruce Feiler
PBS; William Morrow; Published: 2005-10-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.67
Price in other shops:
Lives of the Circus Animals: A Novelby Christopher Bram
William Morrow; Published: 2003-09-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.65
Price in other shops:
Respect for Actingby Uta Hagen
Macmillan; Published: 1973-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops: