Modernism

Description

Whether considered as a style or as an attitude of mind, the ideas of the modernists have affected the contemporary arts, design and architectural environment in a fundamental way. Our houses, our offices, our transport systems have all been transformed under its influence. This text presents the history of the way Modernism came to dominate, despite the fact that it was, in its heyday of the '20s and '30s, largely the preserve of the intellectuals. Richard Weston presents the roots of these ideas and the work of the pioneers of the Modern Movement, such as Mies, Corbusier and Gropius. He explores national and regional variations of the style, and considers responses to modernist ideals in the post-war period. Although the book focuses on the growth of these ideals, it also demonstrates their great influence after World War II, relating the ideals of Modernism to the real world of modernization.

Richard Weston is a writer and lecturer. He is the author of a monograph on Alvar Aalto and, Town Hall, Saynatsalo, in the Architecture in Detail series (both published by Phaidon).

"A fluent, stimulating overview of the movement... Weston's is a lucid and highly readable history."-Daily Telegraph "Its strength and virtue lie in the bringing together of a broad range of cultures: visual, literary and musical, in pursuit of the essence of Modernism."-Perspectives