Politics and Beauty in America

The Liberal Aesthetics of P.T. Barnum, John Muir, and Harley Earl

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, History & Theory, Government
Cover of the book Politics and Beauty in America by Timothy J. Lukes, Palgrave Macmillan US
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Timothy J. Lukes ISBN: 9781137020901
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan US Publication: June 28, 2016
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan Language: English
Author: Timothy J. Lukes
ISBN: 9781137020901
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication: June 28, 2016
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan
Language: English

This book holds classical liberalism responsible for an American concept of beauty that centers upon women, wilderness, and machines. For each of the three beauty components, a cultural entrepreneur supremely sensitive to liberalism’s survival agenda is introduced. P.T. Barnum’s exhibition of Jenny Lind is a masterful combination of female elegance and female potency in the subsistence realm. John Muir’s Yosemite Valley is surely exquisite, but only after a rigorous liberal education prepares for its experience. And Harley Earl’s 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air is a dreamy expressionist sculpture, but with a practical 265 cubic inch V-8 underneath.  Not that American beauty has been uniformly pragmatic. The 1950s are reconsidered for having temporarily facilitated a relaxation of the liberal survival priorities, and the creations of painter Jackson Pollock and jazz virtuoso Ornette Coleman are evaluated for their resistance to the pressures of pragmatism. The author concludes with a provocative speculation regarding a future liberal habitat where Emerson’s admonition to attach stars to wagons is rescinded. 

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This book holds classical liberalism responsible for an American concept of beauty that centers upon women, wilderness, and machines. For each of the three beauty components, a cultural entrepreneur supremely sensitive to liberalism’s survival agenda is introduced. P.T. Barnum’s exhibition of Jenny Lind is a masterful combination of female elegance and female potency in the subsistence realm. John Muir’s Yosemite Valley is surely exquisite, but only after a rigorous liberal education prepares for its experience. And Harley Earl’s 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air is a dreamy expressionist sculpture, but with a practical 265 cubic inch V-8 underneath.  Not that American beauty has been uniformly pragmatic. The 1950s are reconsidered for having temporarily facilitated a relaxation of the liberal survival priorities, and the creations of painter Jackson Pollock and jazz virtuoso Ornette Coleman are evaluated for their resistance to the pressures of pragmatism. The author concludes with a provocative speculation regarding a future liberal habitat where Emerson’s admonition to attach stars to wagons is rescinded. 

More books from Palgrave Macmillan US

Cover of the book Solidarity Politics for Millennials by Timothy J. Lukes
Cover of the book A New Social Contract in a Latin American Education Context by Timothy J. Lukes
Cover of the book A Political History of the Editions of Marx and Engels’s “German ideology Manuscripts” by Timothy J. Lukes
Cover of the book Radical Chicana Poetics by Timothy J. Lukes
Cover of the book Performance, Popular Culture, and Piety in Muslim Southeast Asia by Timothy J. Lukes
Cover of the book Toward an Urban Cultural Studies by Timothy J. Lukes
Cover of the book Transitional Justice in Practice by Timothy J. Lukes
Cover of the book Shakespeare’s Italy and Italy’s Shakespeare by Timothy J. Lukes
Cover of the book An Evolutionary Paradigm for International Law by Timothy J. Lukes
Cover of the book The Politics of the American Dream by Timothy J. Lukes
Cover of the book The Struggle for Power in Post-Independence Colombia and Venezuela by Timothy J. Lukes
Cover of the book Reforming Boston Schools, 1930–2006 by Timothy J. Lukes
Cover of the book Cuban Sugar Industry by Timothy J. Lukes
Cover of the book Latin American Science Fiction by Timothy J. Lukes
Cover of the book A Critical Theology of Genesis by Timothy J. Lukes
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy