No Place Like Utopia: Modern Architecture and the Company We Kept

Rating:
Summary: insightful work about artists role in the urban world
Review: Peter Blake does an engaging and insightful job of bringing together his experiences as an architect and historian as well as those prominent figures with whom he's crossed paths. Not only does the book do a good job of documenting the shapings of our modern urban role but Blake also reveals the myths and realities of the 20th century's view on utopias. In addition, by chronicling his experiences with various prominent artists and architects, all signficant contributors to the modern urban landscape, Blake provides an entertaining glimpse at the relationships between artists/creators and their environments, the intertwining of how they shaped environments and how their environments impacted their own work. A worthwhile read for any fan or architecture, urbanism or those interested in the role/life of artists and designers.

Rating:
Summary: insightful work about artists role in the urban world
Review: Peter Blake does an engaging and insightful job of bringing together his experiences as an architect and historian as well as those prominent figures with whom he's crossed paths. Not only does the book do a good job of documenting the shapings of our modern urban role but Blake also reveals the myths and realities of the 20th century's view on utopias. In addition, by chronicling his experiences with various prominent artists and architects, all signficant contributors to the modern urban landscape, Blake provides an entertaining glimpse at the relationships between artists/creators and their environments, the intertwining of how they shaped environments and how their environments impacted their own work. A worthwhile read for any fan or architecture, urbanism or those interested in the role/life of artists and designers.