Review by Choice Review
The catalogue of a 2018--19 exhibition at the Chicago History Museum, this beautiful large-format volume examines in detail the architecture, product design, and graphic design created in Chicago and its suburbs between the two world wars. Interpreting Art Deco broadly, as representing modern design in the interwar years--as opposed to the facet of modernism during this period associated with the Bauhaus and works of Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, and the more functionalist approach--the essays look at the manifestations in Chicago of this important trend, which is often associated with the Paris Exposition of 1925. The volume opens with five essays by Bruegmann, Neil Harris, and other distinguished scholars, and it also includes substantial essays on the 101 buildings and objects that Bruegmann and the other organizers felt were significant representations of the architecture and design of these interwar years. An impressive publication as well as a valuable scholarly resource, the volume includes a great many excellent photographs, copious footnotes, and a substantial bibliography. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. --Damie Stillman, emeritus, University of Delaware
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
The sleek, machine-inspired style that came to be known as art deco flourished in Chicago during the first half of the twentieth century. Yet the city's essential role in art deco's evolution and dissemination has gone recognized. No more. Bruegmann, the editor of this large, opulent, and zestful volume,explains that he and his contributors cast a wide net when they selected 101 key designs exemplifying Chicago art deco. These eye-opening examples are presented in 325 pristine photographs accompanied by entertainingly informative commentary. From an Egyptian facade on a storage warehouse to the Civic Opera House, the Sunbeam Mixmaster, furniture, graphic design, Holabird & Root skyscrapers, and even the Hostess Twinkie (circa 1930), all are arresting, and many are stunning in their aerodynamic, forward-looking, and emboldening elegance and power. This grand redefinition of art deco establishes Chicago's part in making America modern. --Donna Seaman Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
When one thinks of Chicago in terms of architecture and design, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School usually come to mind. However, Chicago's greatest growth occurred during the period between the two world wars when art deco was at its height. In addition to exemplary examples of the period's architecture, Chicago was the primary site for the design and manufacture of affordable goods. In 1933, Chicago hosted the World's Fair with the theme "A Century of Progress." The fair was pivotal in accelerating the development of art deco in the city. This large, heavily and beautifully illustrated guide examines the history and context of art deco during the "coming of age" of the city. More than 100 key works illustrate the style's influence in architecture, advertising, household appliances, and clothing. Editor Bruegmann (emeritus, architecture, art history, and urban planning, Univ. of Illinois Chicago) enlisted some of the finest in architecture and art history to lend their expertise to the text. VERDICT Those who love modernist design will enjoy this hard-to-put-down homage to art deco and architecture in the Windy City produced by the Chicago Art Deco Society.-Sandra Knowles, South -Carolina State Lib., Columbia © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
