Product Description

From Native American sites in New Mexico and Arizona to the ancient earthworks of the Mississippi Valley to the most fashionable contemporary buildings of Chicago and New York, American architecture is incredibly varied. In this revolutionary interpretation, Upton examines American architecture in relation to five themes: community, nature, technology, money, and art. 109 illustrations. 40 linecuts.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #131994 in Books
• Published on: 1998-06-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Upton has attempted a historical survey that includes contributions by all parts of the United States population. Ancient works of Native Americans and by America's numerous "minority" immigrants are interwoven with the Eurocentric canon with which we are most familiar. Upton resists a chronological presentation of these diverse works, choosing instead to present them through common "themes": community, nature, technology, money and art. Spare on the meaning of visual and physical effects created by architecture, his analyses concentrate on social divisions implied and created by the works. Upton shows, quite convincingly, how most of the American canon is derived from a pastiche of imported images, and gives some considerable insight into the effects of these imports. Jefferson's Monticello, often seen as the first masterwork of American architecture, is derived from various published images of European villas, with a plan that sought to reinforce a lord-servant relationship between Jefferson and his many employees. Major monuments, such as the Nebraska State Capitol, and recent urban projects, such as Florida's Seaside, are similarly deconstructed to show the exclusionary ideology behind their designs. While there are plenty of quick and not terribly helpful laments for the excluded peoples of this country, Upton shows, concrete piece by concrete piece, the complex influences on this country's built environment. Illustrations.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Dell Upton is Professor of Architectural History at the University of California, Berkeley.

Customer Reviews

A New Look at American Buildings and Americans
This book will be a classic. It is not so much a history of American architecture as it is a sociology, and not so much a sociology as it is a subtle and invigorating study of the social relations and social dynamics of American buildings and the people who make and use them. The book's views can be startling---see the comments on Jefferson's Monticello, on Buckminster Fuller, on Richard Meier's Getty Center in Los Angeles. It is beautifully written and the photographs are often dazzling. It even tackles the American suburb and shopping malls. Its views of the development of architecture as a profession and the status of architecture in the history of art are provocative and incisive. Highly recommended.