1 option
Empire of ruins : American culture, photography, and the spectacle of destruction / Miles Orvell.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Orvell, Miles, author.
- Series:
- Oxford scholarship online.
- Oxford scholarship online
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Ruins in art.
- Ruined buildings--Social aspects--United States.
- Ruined buildings.
- Arts and society--United States.
- Arts and society.
- Ruined buildings--Pictorial works.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (280 pages) : illustrations (black and white, and colour).
- Place of Publication:
- New York : Oxford University Press, 2021.
- Summary:
- 'Empire of Ruins' explores the meaning of ruins in American culture, from the mid-nineteenth century to the twenty-first century, arguing that photographs have been the chief means by which the significance of ruins has been created in American culture. The book traces a historical argument that begins in the nineteenth century, when Americans yearned for the ruins of Europe, then moves to the discovery of Native American ruins in the Southwest. Later chapters explore the visualization of inner city ruins, abandoned factories, and shopping malls, and the 'creative destruction' of buildings in order to make way for bigger ones.
- Notes:
- Also issued in print: 2021.
- Description based on print version record.
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN:
- 0-19-049162-0
- 0-19-752328-5
- 0-19-049161-2
The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.