Postmodernism. Style and Subversion, 1970-1990 [Victoria and Albert Museum, 2011-2012]

The radical ideas associated with postmodernism swept through the arts in the 1970s, but have always been hard to summarize. Postmodernism: Style and Subversion, 1970–90 presents the movement not as merely an aesthetic vocabulary, but also as a subversive attitude—a new way of looking at the world. Bringing together practitioners, theorists, and critics, this groundbreaking book assesses the impact of the phenomenon on all areas of art and design. It covers architecture, interiors, and urban planning; product, graphic, and furniture design; the fashion and style industries; and photography, film, television and video—everything from Michael Graves, Robert Venturi, and Denise Scott Brown to MTV, Grace Jones and Boy George, Bladerunner, Karl Lagerfeld, and Comme des Garçons.

Glenn Adamson is head of course at the V&A for the V&A/RCA course in the history of design. He is coeditor of the Journal of Modern Craft, and the author of Thinking through Craft and The Craft Reader. Jane Pavitt is head of course at the Royal College of Art for the V&A/RCA course in the history of design. She has curated a number of exhibitions and edited the accompanying books for the V&A, including Brilliant and Cold War Modern.