Reading California: Art Image and Identity 1900-2000

About this book

This companion volume to the exhibition Made in California: Art Image and Identity 1900-2000 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art offers in-depth illustrated essays on the making of California culture in the twentieth century. Written by a stellar cast of art historians and scholars in the humanities the essays look closely at the forces that shaped fine art and material culture in California. The contributors weave their subjects around themes that are central to the milestone exhibition: the California landscapeboth the natural and built environmentsand the states cultural and political relationships with Latin America and Asia. These provocative essays cover topics such as counterculture architecture Watts Towers border culture identity and gender issues the role of schools in California art auto tourism Hollywood music Beat culture politics literature photography and much more. Accessibly written and intellectually engaging these essays sharpen our understanding of California in the twentieth century and bring together many diverse yet interrelated aspects of its art and culture.