Bøger af Gillian Davies

MINTY the white cat was independent and did not think that she needed a friend. Molly helped her out of an accident and then they shared and helped each other.

This book is centred upon the lifestyle and design outcomes of some early twentieth century designers, Elsie de Wolfe, Eileen Gray and Syrie Maugham. They worked in America, France and England in a critical period for the formation of what was termed modernism. The primary concern of this book is to examine the relationship between the orthodox discourse of modernism and what such designers actually accomplished especially in relation to issues of gender and their subversion of accepted roles. The illusion of autonomy and abstraction is examined as representing a conflict with economic, sexual, social and psychological meaning in the creation of interior space place and identity. A discursive analysis of issues involving three areas of critical theory is used, namely Gender Studies, including Feminist Theory, Interior-Design History and the Historiography of Modernist Ideology. Texts from a wide range of disciplines are revised and combined with theoretical knowledge in order to critically re-evaluate the lives and works of the three women designers and others. Archival evidence and media reviews are presented in order to compare previously published narratives and form a review of gender, modernism and interior design history.

From Barthes to Baudrillard and from Butler to Bourdieu each chapter addresses design and material culture with reference to theoretical issues and personal analysis. Dress History through early ownership of the Singer Sewing machine is revealed through oral history interviews. Graphic design ephemera is explored in relation to sub-cultural groups in Rave culture and Modernist Tropical suburban developments on the Australian Eastern seaboard are investigated and considered as desirable urban design for global communities. Interior design history is followed by a consideration of women's bodies and Elle magazine blogs. Running through the book is the theme of cultural and individual identity in our late modern western world and the objects we use that signify who we are and what it all means in both human and design history.

An introductory text on copyright law for editors, authors and publishers working with text and pictures, including guidance on economic rights for freelance writers, and how to manage content posted online.