Lewis Mumford
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| + | "From the outset, ‘[[The Culture of Cities]]’ was widely hailed as an outstanding interpretation and a worthy successor to its earlier companion volume, ‘[[Technics and Civilization]].’ But despite a certain measure of popular success, the book exerted little influence in the United States. To many urban planners, administrators, and academic specialists, its constructive proposals seemed too remote from ‘practical’ financial and political requirements to be acceptable; and even some of my onetime co-workers and friends regarded my picture of the increasing demoralization and disintegration of [[Megalopolis]] as [[farfetched]] and unduly [[pessimistic]]."--''[[The Culture of Cities]]'' (1938) by Lewis Mumford | ||
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| - | '''Architecture criticism''' is the act of writing or speaking about a [[building]], usually of historical importance or novel design or built in a notable public space. | ||
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| - | Most major national [[newspapers]] of [[first world]] countries cover the [[arts]] in some form and architecture [[criticism]] may be included as a part of this arts coverage. Some newspapers, however, carry their architecture reviews with the [[real estate]] section or the ''Home & Style'' supplement. | ||
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| - | In addition there may exist specialist media to cover any artistic [[discipline]] and so some devoted to architectural coverage. [[Architectural Review]] is an example of such a [[periodical]] | ||
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| - | As with other forms of criticism it uses its own [[technical language]] to convey what the [[review]]er has seen. | ||
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| - | [[Ada Louise Huxtable]] was the first full time architecture critic working for an American daily newspaper when the [[New York Times]] gave her the role in 1963. [[Lewis Mumford]], though, had written extensively on architecture in the nineteen thirties, forties and fifties at the [[The New Yorker|New Yorker]]. | ||
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| - | ==Considerations== | ||
| - | Amongst matters for consideration when reviewing a building may be: | ||
| - | * [[Aesthetics]] - whether the building is pleasing to the eye. | ||
| - | * [[Function (engineering)|Functionality]] - whether the building meets the needs of the client and those who will use the building. | ||
| - | * Style - see [[:Category:Architectural styles]] for examples of these. | ||
| - | * [[Building materials]] - discussion of the choice of these and whether wise or unwise. | ||
| - | * [[Environment (biophysical)|Environment]] - does the building fit into its surroundings, whether those surroundings consist of other buildings or of a natural [[landscape]]. Also, of increasing importance these days, is the building [[environmentally friendly]] (regarding such things as energy consumption, pollution, renewable materials). | ||
| - | * Context - asking how the building relates to projects built around the same time (contemporaneous projects) or by the same architect. | ||
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| - | Indeed those considerations should be thought over by the architect: it is the critic's task to assess how successful the architect (and others involved with the project) have been in meeting both the criteria the project set out to meet and the criteria that the critic himself feels to be important. | ||
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| - | ==Contemporary critics== | ||
| - | Contemporary critics working for major [[newspapers]] include: | ||
| - | * [[Jonathan Glancey]] of [[The Guardian]] | ||
| - | * [[Paul Goldberger]] of [[The New Yorker]] | ||
| - | * [[Christopher Hawthorne]] of [[The Los Angeles Times]] | ||
| - | * [[Edwin Heathcote]] of [[The Financial Times]] | ||
| - | * [[Blair Kamin]] of the [[Chicago Tribune]] | ||
| - | * [[Michael Kimmelman]] of [[The New York Times]] | ||
| - | * [[Rowan Moore]] of [[The Observer]] | ||
| - | * [[Nicolai Ouroussoff]] formerly of [[The New York Times]] | ||
| - | * [[Hugh Pearman (architecture critic)|Hugh Pearman]] of [[The Sunday Times]] | ||
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| - | ==Specialised periodicals== | ||
| - | * [[Architectural Review]] | ||
| - | * [[The Architect's Newspaper]] | ||
| + | '''Lewis Mumford''', [[KBE]] (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an [[United States|American]] [[historian]], [[sociologist]], [[philosopher]] of [[technology]], and influential [[literary critic]]. Particularly noted for his study of [[city|cities]] and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a writer. Mumford was influenced by the work of Scottish theorist Sir [[Patrick Geddes]]. | ||
| + | Mumford was also a contemporary and friend of [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], [[Clarence Stein]], [[Frederic Osborn]], [[Edmund Bacon (architect)|Edmund N. Bacon]], and [[Vannevar Bush]]. | ||
| + | == Bibliography == | ||
| + | ''Incomplete - to be updated'' | ||
| + | * ''[http://www.sacred-texts.com/utopia/sou/index.htm The Story of Utopias]'' (1922) | ||
| + | * ''Sticks and Stones'' (1924) | ||
| + | * ''The Golden Day'' (1926) | ||
| + | * ''Herman Melville: A Study of His Life and Vision'' (1929) | ||
| + | * ''The Brown Decades: A Study of the Arts in America, 1865-1895'' (1931) | ||
| + | * ''[[The City (1939 film)|The City]]'' (1939, a film) | ||
| + | * ''Men Must Act'' (1939) | ||
| + | * ''Faith for Living'' (1940) | ||
| + | * ''The South in Architecture'' (1941) | ||
| + | * "Renewal of Life" series | ||
| + | ** ''[[Technics and Civilization]]'' (1934) | ||
| + | ** ''The Culture of Cities'' (1938) | ||
| + | ** ''The Condition of Man'' (1944) | ||
| + | ** ''The Conduct of Life'' (1951) | ||
| + | * ''City Development'' (1945) | ||
| + | * ''Values for Survival'' (1946) | ||
| + | * ''Art and Technics'' (1952) | ||
| + | * ''In the Name of Sanity'' (1954) | ||
| + | * ''The Transformations of Man'' (1956 New York: Harper and Row) | ||
| + | * ''[[The City in History]]'' (1961) (Awarded the National Book Award) | ||
| + | * ''The Highway and the City'' (1963, essay collection) | ||
| + | * ''[[The Myth of the Machine]]'' (2 volumes) | ||
| + | ** ''Technics and Human Development'' (1967) | ||
| + | ** ''The Pentagon of Power'' (1970) | ||
| + | * ''The Urban Prospect'' (1968, essay collection) | ||
| + | * ''My Work and Days: A Personal Chronicle'' (1979) | ||
| + | * ''Sketches from Life: The Autobiography of Lewis Mumford'' (1982 New York: Dial Press) | ||
| + | * ''The Lewis Mumford Reader. Donald L. Miller, ed.'' (1986 New York: Pantheon Books) | ||
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Current revision
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"From the outset, ‘The Culture of Cities’ was widely hailed as an outstanding interpretation and a worthy successor to its earlier companion volume, ‘Technics and Civilization.’ But despite a certain measure of popular success, the book exerted little influence in the United States. To many urban planners, administrators, and academic specialists, its constructive proposals seemed too remote from ‘practical’ financial and political requirements to be acceptable; and even some of my onetime co-workers and friends regarded my picture of the increasing demoralization and disintegration of Megalopolis as farfetched and unduly pessimistic."--The Culture of Cities (1938) by Lewis Mumford |
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Lewis Mumford, KBE (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and influential literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a writer. Mumford was influenced by the work of Scottish theorist Sir Patrick Geddes.
Mumford was also a contemporary and friend of Frank Lloyd Wright, Clarence Stein, Frederic Osborn, Edmund N. Bacon, and Vannevar Bush.
[edit]
Bibliography
Incomplete - to be updated
- The Story of Utopias (1922)
- Sticks and Stones (1924)
- The Golden Day (1926)
- Herman Melville: A Study of His Life and Vision (1929)
- The Brown Decades: A Study of the Arts in America, 1865-1895 (1931)
- The City (1939, a film)
- Men Must Act (1939)
- Faith for Living (1940)
- The South in Architecture (1941)
- "Renewal of Life" series
- Technics and Civilization (1934)
- The Culture of Cities (1938)
- The Condition of Man (1944)
- The Conduct of Life (1951)
- City Development (1945)
- Values for Survival (1946)
- Art and Technics (1952)
- In the Name of Sanity (1954)
- The Transformations of Man (1956 New York: Harper and Row)
- The City in History (1961) (Awarded the National Book Award)
- The Highway and the City (1963, essay collection)
- The Myth of the Machine (2 volumes)
- Technics and Human Development (1967)
- The Pentagon of Power (1970)
- The Urban Prospect (1968, essay collection)
- My Work and Days: A Personal Chronicle (1979)
- Sketches from Life: The Autobiography of Lewis Mumford (1982 New York: Dial Press)
- The Lewis Mumford Reader. Donald L. Miller, ed. (1986 New York: Pantheon Books)
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