Blow-Up: Inflatable Art, Architecture, and Design - Hardcover

Topham, Sean

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3791326872 ISBN 13: 9783791326870

Publisher: Prestel Pub, 1999

Synopsis

Ever since the first hot-air balloons sailed over the French countryside in the eighteenth century, both delighting and terrifying those watching below, the world has had ambivalent feelings towards air-filled forms. This first up-to-date history explores the fear and wonder evoked by inflatable technologies in all aspects of life: from children ’s toys to military craft and everything in between.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Inflatable forms have been around for centuries, but scientists, architects, artists, and manufacturers keep rediscovering this deceptively simple technology. Some of its first applications were extreme environments, where it appealed to scientists and the military. But in the 1960s artists such as Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg, and design collectives such as Utopia and Archigram, used pneumatic forms to challenge conventional assumptions about the role of materials in art and architecture. Contemporary designers such as Verner Panton and Issey Miyake have incorporated blow-ups into their work, and today inflatables have entered the mainstream market in such diverse structures as toys, furniture, and walk-through environments. This unique work brings the technological and philosophical history of pneumatics into the present, beautifully illustrating its countless uses as it reveals how inflatable objects still evoke the sense of optimism and escape that inspired the first designers in this field.

About the Author:

Sean Topham studied design and currently works as a writer and journalist. His interest in plastics began while writing a documentary on Action Man. He lives in London, England.

About this edition

• Publisher: Prestel Pub
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 3791326872
• ISBN 13: 9783791326870
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160