Spectacle - Hardcover

Planning And Design P.C., Rockwell Architecture; Rockwell, David; Bruce Mau Design Inc

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0714845744 ISBN 13: 9780714845746

Publisher: Phaidon Press, 2006

Synopsis

This volume takes the reader on a visual tour of far-flung and fleeting, beautiful and bizarre manmade events, revealing that contemporary life is increasingly influenced by the idea of spectacle. Features here are a wide range of international spectacles, from the Olympic Games to the Running of the Bulls in Spain, the Holi Festival in India, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. Also included are twenty interviews with influential cultural figures such as art critic Dave Hickey, film director John Waters, prizefighter Muhammad Ali, theater director Julie Taymor, Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn, architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, and an essay by New York Times critic Herbert Muschamp. A tribute to the art of celebration, Spectacle documents those public performances and happenings that galvanize crowds of people and, if only for a brief moment, forge a bond among strangers.

About this title

About the Author:

David Rockwell is the founder and CEO of Rockwell Group, an award-winning architecture, planning, and design firm based in New York specializing in cultural, educational, hospitality, and retail projects, as well as theater and film design.

Review:

"Spectacle offers an impressive visual tour of over 60 spectacular events that take place around the world."-The Architect's Newspaper "This is a book of happy spectacles. Rockwell and Mau (Spectacle has Mau's imaginative boldness and strong sense of display written all over it) have created a smart book with heft and beauty, and much information useful to designers and fans of the public entertainments, rituals and happenings that so enchant us."-Azure "Packed with 200 color photographs and interviews with award-winning authors, producers, directors, and performers - from Muhammad Ali to Steve Wynn-these authorities of the grandiose explain how such 'shared, live experiences' shape the way that we see the world, the way we interact with it, and how we interact with each other."-Desert Living "Architect David Rockwell doesn't just think big-he thinks spectacular."-The New York Sun "Spectacle by David Rockwell and Bruce Mau is a smallish book on a biggish subject."-The New York Times "An extraordinarily informative, entertaining, and inspiring book."-Passport "Slickly designed, with full-page color photographs of more than 60 such spectacles from around the world (including the Burning Man festival), the monograph serves the dual needs of armchair travelers, offering vicarious journeys alongside provocative ruminations on the underpinnings of the events."-San Francisco Bay Guardian "Stunning... Fascinating."-Gay Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Phaidon Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0714845744
• ISBN 13: 9780714845746
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256