- SKU: 9780812221534
- BARCODE: 9780812221534
- VENDOR: BooksCloud
Art and the City: Civic Imagination and Cultural Authority in Los Angeles - Paperback
Couldn't load pickup availability
Description
by Sarah Schrank (Author)
No longer represented only by Hollywood and the commercial fashion industry, Los Angeles in recent years has received international media attention as one of the world's new art centers. From the appearance of local artists in major European exhibitions to widely reported multimillion-dollar museum endowments, Los Angeles has entered the world cultural stage.
Art and the City: Civic Imagination and Cultural Authority in Los Angeles places this celebrated arrival in the richer context of art controversies and political contests over modern art and art spaces in the twentieth century. The Ferus Gallery's pop-infused "L.A. Look" and "finish-fetish," now synonymous with Los Angeles's postwar modernist aesthetics, emerged from a dispersed art community that struggled in the 1950s to find a toehold in a local scene reeling from the censure of the McCarthy era. The Watts Towers have long faced neglect despite their international fame, while Venice Beach, Barnsdall Park, Griffith Park, and Olvera Street proved highly contentious sites of urban cultural expression.
Challenging historical accounts that situate the city's origins as an art center in the 1960s, Art and the City argues that debates over modernism among artists and civic leaders alike made art a charged political site as early as the 1910s. The legacy of those early battles reverberated throughout the century. Because of a rich tradition of arts education and the presence of Hollywood, Los Angeles historically hosted a talented population of contemporary artists. However, because of the snug relationship between urban aesthetics and capital investment that underscored the booster goals of the civic arts movement, modern artists were pushed out of public exhibition spaces until after World War II. Art and the City uncovers the historic struggles for cultural expression and creative space that are hidden behind the city's booster mythology.
Author Biography
Sarah Schrank is Associate Professor of History at California State University, Long Beach.
Reviews
Exceptional Support and Clean Code
I was impressed by how fast the support team responded to my questions. Even as someone with basic coding knowledge, I found the theme incredibly easy to work with. The code is well-organized, and everything runs smoothly.
Reliable Theme with Excellent Customer Service
After trying multiple themes, I finally chose Wokiee — and haven’t looked back. It’s reliable, modern, and easy to customize without coding. What impressed me most was their support team: fast, helpful, and willing to assist even with third-party issues. That level of service is rare!
Beautiful Design and Great Flexibility
Wokiee is hands down the best Shopify theme I’ve used. The design options are stunning and fully customizable. I was able to build a high-converting store without any external developers.
Top-Notch Support and Regular Updates
The customer support team is incredible — helpful, responsive, and very professional. They’ve helped me resolve everything from layout tweaks to app integrations. Plus, the theme is regularly updated with new features.
Amazing Customization Options"!
Wokiee gave me full creative control over my store’s layout and visuals. The theme’s design blocks are so flexible that I could create something truly unique — without touching a single line of code.
High-Quality Theme with Professional Code
You can tell Wokiee was built by pros. The code is clean and optimized for performance. No bloated features — just what you need. My store loads fast and looks great on all devices.