Martino Stierli holds a Swiss National Science Foundation Professorship at the Institute of Art History at the University of Zurich. He is a freelance curator and a widely published author.
Las Vegas in the Rearview Mirror brings to bear an impressive array
of sources, a profound knowledge of architectural history and
urbanism, as well as numerous contextual disciplines, to dissect
Learning from Las Vegas as a research seminar, a published
artifact, a sophisticated analytical program, an ideological
statement, and the epicenter of a debate about the form of the
American city."--Artillery Magazine
"When published in 1972, Learning from Las Vegas (CH, Mar'73) met a
storm of protest because it seemed to sanctify so much that long
had been cast as detritus, including parking lots and enormous,
"garish" signs. But for the authors (architect Robert Venturi; his
wife, planner Denise Scott Brown; and their associate, Steven
Izenour), the Strip in Las Vegas represented the quintessential
expression of the contemporary American city--an archetype that
should afford a basis for developing designs that were meaningful
to the public. In the past 40-plus years, the book--arguably among
the most important 20th-century publications on urbanism--has had
an enduring impact on the way many people think about and shape the
urban environment at home and abroad. Stierli (Univ. of Zurich,
Switzerland) here provides a meticulous assessment of the context
in which that book was written. His new book is rich with insights
about Venturi and Scott Brown, underscoring the latter's essential
role in the study. But Stierli's most important contribution is
providing a fresh examination of planning, design, and critical
thinking about the built environment in the US and Europe during
the third quarter of the 20th century for specialists concerned
with that subject. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-level
undergraduates and above." --Choice
"Martino Stierli examines Learning from Las Vegas as an urbanist
analysis, within the artistic and architectural context of
1960s-70s pop culture, high and low art, and urban forms."--Book
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