A good demonstration that clothes make the mansion, as well as the man.
Playing to one of his strengths, Rybczynski (One Good Turn, 2000, etc.) takes a seemingly whimsical topic—the role of fashion in architecture—and lightly teases from it some discomfiting truths.
Discomfiting, that is, for those architects—count them in legions—who bridle at the suggestion they might work in a style. But for Rybczynski it is plain as day that, of the three elements of architecture (function, durability, and delight), style has much to do with the last. “Architectural style is the manner in which the architect communicates a particular kind of visual delight.” Furthermore, “if style is the language of architecture, fashion represents the wide—and swirling—cultural currents that shape and direct that language.” (Then, devilishly, if not convincingly, “If the relationship between dress and decor is intimate . . . there is no doubt that dress comes first.”) This short work is the result of a series of lectures delivered at the New York Public Library, and the author makes good use of the materials at hand—the library itself, the famous series of buildings along the 40th Street side, the infamous bunch along 42nd Street, and a few nearby structures—not only to display his sharp use of imagery (as in the “medieval verticality” of the RCA building or Raymond Hood’s black-and-gold Radiator Building glowing like hot coals) but to chart the rise and fall of styles—along with representative architects. Like his colleagues, Rybczynski doesn’t like confinement either, and he happily spins off to explore notions of absorbing and extending traditions, the importance of expressive detailing, and the folly of categorization (as architects “instinctively understand that the history of architecture—including the present—is a continuity rather than a series of episodes”).
A good demonstration that clothes make the mansion, as well as the man.Pub Date: July 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-19-513443-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2001
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
