Philippe Starck

Rating:
Summary: Nothing new here - a shallow view we have seen before.
Review: This is the third book on the work of Philippe Starck to be released this year and, regrettably, the weakest. This slim volume offers only a glossy overview of Starck's most recent and most popular works in product and interior design. The phographs used all appear in previous books on the subject and the layout (by Simon Mercer) is a watered down version of the layout (by Mark Thomson) for Tashen's 1996 "Starck" from their "big book series". Although Ms. Carmel-Arthur's essay makes several references to Philippe Starck's architectural projects, none are illustrated here.

The book jacket tells us that Judith Carmel-Arthur is a teacher at Kingston University in London where she is also working toward her PHD in Design History. Perhaps this explains why her thirteen-page essay reads more like an uninspired college term paper then the introduction to a book on one of the most exciting designers of our time. Aside from being a simply boring read, it offers no insight into the works presented or their creator. In addition, the essay contains several mistakes in details pertaining to manufactures and attributions. In the essay, Ms. Carmel-Arthur takes a pointed stab at previous books on the works of Starck which have relied heavily on interviews with the designer for the majority of their text. Ironicly, her point is made mute by the layout in which the text is seeded with Philippe Starck quotes printed in bold letters four-times the size of that used for the body of the essay. This has the effect of making the reader flip through the essay, stopping to only to read the enlarged Starck quotes. (Not necessarily a bad thing.) The last three pages of the essay are an unabashed advertisement for Mr. Starck's most recent commercial venture.

If you have other books on the works of Philippe Starck then you will not need this one - nothing new here. If you are looking for a book on his works - keep looking - there's not enough here. I would suggest this book only for children who might respond to the large photos and the comfortable small size of the book.