White Walls, Designer Dresses: The Fashioning of Modern Architecture

Book Description

In a daring revisionist history of modern architecture, Mark Wigley opens up a new understanding of the historical avant-garde. He explores the most obvious, but least discussed, feature of modern architecture: white walls. Although the white wall exemplifies the stripping away of the decorative masquerade costumes worn by nineteenth-century buildings, Wigley argues that modern buildings are not naked. The white wall is itself a form of clothing -- the newly athletic body of the building, like that of its occupants, wears a new kind of garment and these garments are meant to match. Not only did almost all modern architects literally design dresses, Wigley points out, their arguments for a modern architecture were taken from the logic of clothing reform. Architecture was understood as a form of dress design.

Wigley follows the trajectory of this key subtext by closely reading the statements and designs of most of the protagonists, demonstrating that it renders modern architecture's relationship with the psychosexual economy of fashion much more ambiguous than the architects' endlessly repeated rejections of fashion would suggest. Indeed, Wigley asserts, the very intensity of these rejections is a symptom of how deeply they are embedded in the world of clothing. By drawing on arguments about the relationship between clothing and architecture first formulated in the middle of the nineteenth century, modern architects in fact presented a sophisticated theory of the surface, modernizing architecture by transforming the status of the surface.

White Walls, Designer Dresses shows how this seemingly incidental clothing logic actually organizes the detailed design of the modern building, dictating a system of polychromy, understood as a multicolored outfit. The familiar image of modern architecture as white turns out to be the effect of a historiographical tradition that has worked hard to suppress the color of the surfaces of the buildings that it describes. Wigley analyzes this suppression in terms of the sexual logic that invariably accompanies discussions of clothing and color, recovering those sensuously colored surfaces and the extraordinary arguments about clothing that were used to defend them.

Customer Reviews:

what about the white cube?.......1997-11-19

And what about the white walls of museums & art galleries. What about "the white cube" (Brian ' O Doherty) It takes Wigley a whole book to show that white walls are far from neutral. So therefore it seems to me a nice contradiction to say the opposite about the white walls of an art galllery. (page 8) In one sentence Wigley seems to forget that there was a very strong relationship between artist & architects in the early modernism. For me, interested in the relationship between art & architecture, this one sentence undermines the whole book. I'm sorry if this reaction is a bit sharp, but this page is too small to give a detailed critique. Wouter Davidts

White walls, designer dresses: the fashioning of modern architecture.: An article from: Parachute: Contemporary Art Magazine

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White walls, designer dresses: the fashioning of modern architecture.: An article from: Parachute: Contemporary Art Magazine

Manufacturer: Parachute Contemporary Art
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00097V81E
Release Date: 2005-05-25

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Parachute: Contemporary Art Magazine, published by Parachute Contemporary Art on January 1, 1997. The length of the article is 683 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: White walls, designer dresses: the fashioning of modern architecture.
Publication: Parachute: Contemporary Art Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 1997
Publisher: Parachute Contemporary Art
Issue: 85 Page: 73-4

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

White Walls, Designer Dresses: The Fashioning of Modern Architecture

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White Walls, Designer Dresses: The Fashioning of Modern Architecture
Mark Wigley
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQ8I2M

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

The Court Artist: On the Ancestry of the Modern Artist (Ideas in Context)

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The Court Artist: On the Ancestry of the Modern Artist (Ideas in Context)
Martin Warnke
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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The Court Artist: On the Ancestry of the Modern Artist.: An article from: Renaissance Quarterly

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The Court Artist: On the Ancestry of the Modern Artist.: An article from: Renaissance Quarterly
Tracy E. Cooper
Manufacturer: Renaissance Society of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Renaissance Quarterly, published by Renaissance Society of America on September 22, 1995. The length of the article is 627 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Court Artist: On the Ancestry of the Modern Artist.
Author: Tracy E. Cooper
Publication: Renaissance Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1995
Publisher: Renaissance Society of America
Volume: v48 Issue: n3 Page: p663(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

The Digital Photographer's Handbook series is the perfect tool for photographers wishing to experiment with the endless possibilities of digital technology. Each photograph is accompanied by a step-by-step explanation of how the effects/manipulations were achieved, while the level of competence required is the same for each title. No other digital photo books are subject-led and break down the image so clearly, making this series truly indispensable.

Travel is the third in the series. The images are demystified into four processes: Shoot it, Scan it, Manipulate it and Print it. The book opens with a chapter: `Why digital?' which discusses the advantages of digital against traditional photography, and follows up with real-life projects from the very basic to the more complex, showing how to shoot in the first place then improve the results after the event. A ready-reference glossary completes the package which gives readers the know-how to use their digital equipment to its fullest capacity.

Simon Joinson was the launch editor of What Digital Camera, the UK's leading digital photography magazine. He has been involved in digital imaging since 1992. He is a widely known author, lecturer and consultant on web design, graphics and editorial matters to the photographic industry.

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An excellent read!

A well organized, reasonably researched and highly repetet

All lights were clearly out at this company's corporate HQ

Let me repeat that

Very Interesting Analysis

Kmart's Ten Deadly Sins: How Incompetence Tainted an American Icon
Marcia Layton Turner
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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On Target: How the World's Hottest Retailer Hit a Bull's-Eye

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America's Corner Store: Walgreen's Prescription for Success

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Book Description

An insightful look at how Kmart's management destroyed the company
Kmart's Ten Deadly Sins spins an intriguing tale of the missteps of a retail giant who once had the industry in the palm of its hand and foolishly let it all slip away. This engaging book weaves corporate history in with financial analysis and commentary that leaves the reader with a better sense of where Kmart has been and what its potential is for a turnaround. This first in-depth examination of Kmart clearly identifies and discusses the ten missteps and miscalculations Kmart's CEOs have repeatedly made, including resisting investments in technology, brand mismanagement, and haphazard expansion, to name a few. Author Marcia Layton Turner taps many of her vast contacts within the retail business community to get the inside scoop on what really brought this once mighty retail giant to its knees. Kmart's Ten Deadly Sins is written for readers who find themselves wondering how a company with such bright prospects could end up filing for bankruptcy.
Marcia Layton Turner (Rochester, NY) is the bestselling author of The Unofficial Guide to Starting a Small Business and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting Your Own Business. With an MBA in corporate strategy and marketing from the University of Michigan, she spent several years with Eastman Kodak in marketing and marketing communications. She is currently a freelance writer/author and ghostwriter for college-level business textbooks. Turner has also written for several top magazines and Web sites.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent read!.......2007-06-10

If you're into retail marketing in any capacity, you owe it to yourself to read this book. At least twice. It's that good.

(Marcia, if you read any of your reviews, I want to know you wrote a fantastic, easy to read book. One of my favorites. Thank you!)

A well organized, reasonably researched and highly repetet.......2004-12-24

The Good: It has an almost crystalline structure to it. You could easily flip through it like a "what went wrong" reference manual for K-Mart, or any retail operation looking to see how it's making certain mistakes. Mostly large firms, yet a few small retail ones as well can cull some great common sense lessons by flipping through the book for chapters and headings they think will apply to them.

The Bad: The book, like most MBA-level powerpoint presentations these days, seems to focus far too heavily on WalMart vs. K-Mart, throwing in Target and (later in the book) Kohls more as excuses rather than well developed ideas. The concepts and key points are heavily repeated throughout, and towards the end of the book, there isn't much of anything new presented. The conclusions are self-evident after a while.

The Ugly: It's a good book to skip around and read in. It becomes unbearable to read it cover-to-cover. Has some great episodes for brief instruction purposes, but it's not a great "book".

All lights were clearly out at this company's corporate HQ.......2004-10-14

Kmart debuted around the same time as other American discount retailers, but while they constantly adapted to changing times and styles to keep their relevancy, Kmart luxuriated in a 1970's/early 1980's holding pattern regarding customer shopping and store decoration.

Insisting that discount shopping meant 'cheap' (despite the numerous negative connotations within American culture) Kmart itself turned American shoppers off from spending their money in these stores. Disaffected shoppers then began turning to the other discount stores.

Things became so bad that 'store brands' (usually a godsend for thrifty shoppers) were pulled only because of name stigmatization. It is a bad omen when a store is ashamed of it's own brands.

Kmart actually was unable to figure out why it's clientele base shrunk while Wal-mart and Target respectively grew into the powerhouses of today. By the 21st century, the only people really in love with Kmart's business decisonmaking were the executives who apparently got paid no matter what bad decision they fastened the company to.

After reading this scathing-but fair indictment for myself, I also am amazed nobody from the inside was concered about the shortcomings. The early 1990's 'Big K' concept failed because the company merely put a new sign on the same dinky and dingy stores of yesterday. Constructing more new stores AND a new training program would have made the critical world of difference.

In a Kmart as late as 2003, I was openly taken aback by the dirty floor and cluttered layout. I had honestly chalked that one 'current' experience up to the 'back to school' rush, but if most of the stores in a company are in this condition---there are very big management problems. No amount of downsizing or 'new' brand introduction can bail out a company with such obvious disgust for customers.

Let me repeat that.......2004-05-23

The author has researched well, using many footnotes to indicate her sources. However, the book reads like a high school student's report of individual articles (too, the grammar and tone are often colloquially conversational) and there is little central organization to the book. The author frequently beats the same dead horse with so many different articles to support her view that you'll find yourself wondering if she a little defensive in making some of her points.

Her style of continually referring back and forth between Wal*Mart and Kmart left me feeling as though I were holding a finger in two different books and flipping back and forth. Comparisons of this sort are valuable, but the constant shifting of gears is distracting.

The book lacks the perspective from the inside. Isn't that what gets to the heart of the problem?

For readers with financial savvy, it would have been nice to see some financial and non-financial statistical tables and/or charts. Specifically, what was the impact on the financials during this time? The number of transactions? The average sale amount per transaction? A picture is worth a thousand words.

If you buy this book, read the first few pages of each chapter and you will have the main ideas. This book could have been half as long.

Very Interesting Analysis.......2004-01-08

I read this book with interest from both the perspective of a consumer and a business person. As a consumer, I stopped shopping at KMart a long time ago. This book gave me the understanding of how the customer service at KMart ended up being such a low priority to a retailer when it should have been the highest priority. As a business person, it was fascinating to read about one more example of how egos in Corporate America can cause the downfall of an established institution. A recommended read...

Average customer rating:

to the point

Needs a proof read

Succeed in Business India

Culture Shock! Succeed in Business: India
Hiru Biljani
Manufacturer: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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India - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!)

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Passport India: Your Pocket Guide to Indian Business, Customs & Etiquette (Passport to the World) (Passport to the World)

ASIN: 1558683194

Book Description

With the insights provided in this Culture Shock! Guide, you'll learn to see beyond the stereotypes and misinformation that often precede business travel to foreign land. Whether you plan to stay for a week or for a year, you'll benefit from such topics as understanding the rules of driving and monetary systems, building business relationships and the particular intricacies of setting up an office.

Customer Reviews:

to the point.......2005-11-05

the book is very usefull to those intresting in the indian economy and market,but a little dry and dull

Needs a proof read.......2004-04-02

Firstly, it's not Biljani - it's Bijlani. I bought this book hoping to get some quick background before flying to India on a business trip. I am disappointed. Yes, it has information that will help, but it has GLARING mistakes & typos.
Two examples:
1) In the map of India, the names of the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are interchanged. Believe me - it's like labeling California as Texas and Texas as California.
2) The description of Indian flag is incorrect. Indian flag does NOT have the sanskrit words "Truth alone triumphs".

This book does help. It would help a lot more if it went through a proof reading.

Succeed in Business India.......2000-09-28

This book does an excellent job of covering the practical nuts and bolts of doing business in India--including government policy, historical context, some of the changes in business climate that are happening, opportunities for investment, setting up a joint venture, taxation and labor issues, and a few pages of basic facts and travel tips, etc. A lot of business people going to India want somethig that gives them the "bullet points," and the author does that job well in a book that can be read in a few hours.

There is, however, a whole area of consideration that has been ommitted, and I believe it is a glaring ommission. I am a cross-cultural trainer who specializes in training people who are doing business in India to be more culturally competent. I believe, as anthropologist Edward T. Hall said, "The single greatest barrier to business success is the one erected by culture." This book almost completely skips over critical intercultural issues that significantly impact business relationships between Westerners and Indians.

One in five U.S. expatriates sent overseas will fail in their assignments due to inadequate cultural preparation. There are countless stories of lost business, unsuccessful marketing campaigns, failed partnerships, damaged corporate reputations, and embarrassing faux pas--extremely costly mistakes that could have been averted with a little prudent cultural preparation. Usually, the greater the cultural differences, the greater the chances of failure and the greater the need for cross-cultural training. Yet, only 28 percent of U.S. CEOs think they need cultural knowledge when doing business overseas!

I imagine that the author has left out any material on intercultural communication because the same publishers have published a good book (Culture Shock! India) that starts to address some of those issues. However, it seems like a glaring ommission to me in a book that is supposed to prepare people to "Succeed in Business" in India.

Nevertheless, this book, in conjunction with good, quality cross-cultural training (I have yet to find a book that does the job adequately of training businesspeople to understand the cultural logic of India)does do an excellent job of what it sets out to do. Since it does a good job within the context of what it is trying to do (even though I think it should have tried to do more), I give it four stars out of five.

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Succeed in Business in India (Culture Shock!)
Donald Bullis
Manufacturer: Kuperard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9812047328

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