Publisher's Weekly Review
The Brooklyn Museum of Art presents a reprint of the catalogue to its benchmark 1986 exhibit The Machine Age in America: 1918-1941 by scholars Richard Guy Wilson, Dianne H. Pilgrim and Dickran Tashjian. Following on the culture-crit assertion that "the machine in all its many manifestations was the defining force in America during the years between the two great wars," the authors trace the era's aesthetic qualities in Buicks, Frank Lloyd Wright houses, Oskar J. Hansen's Ayn Randian sculpture Winged Figures of the Republic on the Hoover Dam, Berenice Abbott's photographs of steamships, Electrolux vacuum cleaners, Russell Wright's seminal flatware and furniture designs, Joseph Stella's vivid abstractions of the Brooklyn Bridge, and a host of other art works and utilitarian objects. Pop and material culture lovers will swoon over the 410 illustrations (55 in full color) and the erudite essays. ( Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Choice Review
An exemplary book in the superb way it examines its fascinating, complex subject. Written in conjunction with a major exhibition that is moving across the US in 198687, this book goes far beyond the usual statistic-laden art-show-catalog fare. Here is a wide-ranging inquiry into the influences that bounced back and forth between artworks and machines in the years between the world wars, and into the relationships that bound art and technology to the social, economic, and intellectual life of the society as a whole. The illustrations alone would make this book most important for anyone interested in 20th-century America. Add the lucid text, extensive notes, and brief bibliography, and The Machine Age becomes, simply, indispensible. Highly recommended for all libraries.-A.C. Birnholz, SUNY at Buffalo
Library Journal Review
This sumptuous large-format book is published in conjunction with a current exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. Far more than just a catalog, the book studies in depth the reciprocal influences of American technology and art. In this context, several chapters discuss subjects such as industrial machines, landscapes, transportation, and architecture. Attention is given to designers such as Loewy and Bel Geddes who considered industrial design as a new art form. The machine age was also an inspiration for both abstract and realistic artists. Liberally illustrated, with photographs and reproductions on almost every page. Recommended for all art and design collections. Frank Davidoff, formerly with CBS Broadcast Group, New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
