The Performing Art Of The American Automobile

In another superb collaboration, Stein and Furman showcase one hundred years of American automotive innovation via Discovery Channel founder John S. Hendricks s unequaled collection.

The American automobile has always been more than a means of transportation. The inspired fusion of form and function has meant that for more than a century now men and women have been driving about their daily business in machines which can only be described as works of art on wheels.

As the original American sports car, the Chevrolet Corvette has come to represent power, freedom and sexuality for more than half a century. Yet it also hints at personal identity and style, suggesting how effectively values and meaning are communicated through an object. Using various critical perspectives, this close analysis of this highly recognizable automobile finds diverse aspects of American culture revealed. Topics covered include the Corvette in literature; its ties to masculine identity, including homosexuality, as well as female sexuality; and the Corvette as artistic object, among others.

Presents biographical profiles of 150 American women of achievement in the field of performing arts, including birth and death dates, major accomplishments, and historical influence.

This much needed book is the first to provide a comprehensive history of the profession and aesthetics of American automobile design. The author reveals how the appearance of the automobile was shaped by the social conflicts arising from America's mass production system. He connects the social struggles of American society with the organizational struggles of designers to create symbol-laden substitutes for the American dream. Theoretically sophisticated, lucid and compelling, Auto-Opium will appeal to all interested in the American obsession with the car.

Now revised and updated, this book tells the story of how the automobile transformed American life and how automotive design and technology have changed over time. It details cars' inception as a mechanical curiosity and later a plaything for the wealthy; racing and the promotion of the industry; Henry Ford and the advent of mass production; market competition during the 1920s; the development of roads and accompanying highway culture; the effects of the Great Depression and World War II; the automotive Golden Age of the 1950s; oil crises and the turbulent 1970s; the decline and then resurgence of the Big Three; and how American car culture has been represented in film, music and literature. Updated notes and a select bibliography serve as valuable resources to those interested in automotive history.