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Woman as Design: Before, Behind, Between, Above, Below by Stephen Bayley, 1st Ed

$180
£137.43
€158.80
CA$252.69
A$281.64
CHF 147.77
MX$3,439.34
NOK 1,871.08
SEK 1,768.46
DKK 1,185.18

About the Item

Woman as Design: Before, Behind, Between, Above, Below by Stephen Bayley. Published by Conran Octopus, 2009. 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket. Extract: "This is a complicated, ambitious and lavishly illustrated book: on one level, it is an impressively erudite, and articulately expressed account of the changes in the artistic and cultural representation of women's bodies from the first century BC up to the age of the mass media, and on another level, it suggests that women's bodies have, like consumer products, been designed and packaged (and that, in particular, a special relationship exists between the design of women and of automobiles); it also presents a number of mini-material–cultural historical narratives about the various accessories and props that have helped change women's bodies over time, and a relatively brief account of the influence of ‘feminine form’ on contemporary architecture. Above all, though, it presents a story of the idealization of the female body itself seen through the eyes of a male writer for whom, it seems, the female body is, essentially, an object of fascination, mystery and desire." Part One: Before, Behind, Between, Above and Below, Stephen Bayley takes us from Aphrodite to the Delta of Venus and then to the industrialisation of the breast (in bra form) and sexual identity. He questions what strange mixture of evolution, social competition, cultural modelling and (predominantly male) desire made the substance and the style of women. In Part Two he examines pin-ups, stereotypes, cosmetics, hemlines and heels and looks in detail at how design has appropriated the feminine form. He illustrates how we see, display, dress, decorate and distort women - including how shoes and clothes form our impression of womanly ideal and how different ages and different cultures developed different womanly ideals. Wonderfully designed and superbly illustrated, Woman as Design is a compulsively attractive book and a modern study of the continuous conflict between the real and the ideal... in its most familiar form., A completely original reappraisal of that most familiar, yet mysterious, of things, the female body. In this endlessly provocative volume, Stephen Bayley, design authority and cultural critic, takes on the female body, analyzing each crook and every curve as a sign, a symbol, and as a designed object. From Aphrodite to the industrialization of the breast, and from pin-ups to the future of sex. NPT Books a division of N.P. Trent Antiques has a large collection of used and out of print books on art, architecture, decoration and antiques with a focus on 1st editions, signed and limited editions. We offer free shipping to any domestic address.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 11.25 in (28.58 cm)Width: 10.25 in (26.04 cm)Depth: 1.75 in (4.45 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    2009
  • Condition:
    Dust jacket is soiled and discolored. Cover is excellent.
  • Seller Location:
    valatie, NY
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: NP-1774K1stDibs: LU2605144890172

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