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Stephen Bayley

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Ugly: The Aesthetics of Everything Hardcover – January 1, 2012

by Stephen Bayley (Author)

4.5 22 ratings

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Although beauty has occupied philosopher's passions at least since Plato's time, ugliness has rarely gotten its fair share of critical attention. Now, British social commentator and design critic Steven Bayley--of whom Tom Wolfe once said, "I don't know anybody with more interesting observations about style, taste and contemporary design"--is turning his keen eye to the very notion of ugliness. "Ugliness offends the natural order, even as it helps to define it," he wrote in the "Sunday Times" not long ago. "So the human adventure is a gradient with the ugly at one end and the beautiful at the other: we are all on that slope, aspiring in one direction while desperate to avoid the sickening gravitational pull of the other." Here he weaves centuries of art and design history into a far-reaching discourse on the unbearable and the grotesque. Can something that is outwardly beautiful--a B52 bomber or a Colt .45--also be ugly, if its function is to kill or to maim? Why was "Degenerate Art" considered so unacceptable? Why are mountains seen as sublime expressions of nature, when only 200 years ago they were regarded as loathsome things to be avoided at all costs? Why is there a contest for "The Ugliest Dog in the World"? Stephen Bayley has the answers, and they're not pretty.
Stephen Bayley (born 1951) is one of the world's best-known commentators on design and popular culture, and author of the books "A Dictionary of Idiocy, General Knowledge" and "Life's a Pitch." In the early 1980s he oversaw the Boilerhouse Project--Britain's first permanent design exhibition--at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and later became Chief Executive of the Design Museum in London. He has worked as a design consultant for, among others, Ford, Absolut Vodka, Coca-Cola, Volkswagen and BMW. A bestselling author and an outspoken authority on design and art, he is a regular contributor to numerous newspapers and magazines.

Print length

272 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Goodman Books
Publication date

January 1, 2012
Dimensions

7.56 x 1.18 x 9.69 inches
ISBN-10

1847960367
ISBN-13

978-1847960368
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Editorial Reviews

From Bookforum

Stephen Bayley’s Ugly: The Aesthetics of Everything is a terrific history of white people’s thoughts on the beautiful and tacky. Bayley plumbs the shallowest depths of white culture of the last few hundred years, from high kitsch (snow-globe collections, the infamous Madonna Inn), to the compelling ugliness of plants, animals, disfigurement, and racism, to the reactionary pro-ugliness movements of punk and modernist architecture. —Choire Sicha

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Goodman Books (January 1, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1847960367
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1847960368
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.7 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.56 x 1.18 x 9.69 inches

Customer Reviews:
4.5 22 ratings

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Stephen Bayley

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Tom Wolfe said of Mr. Bayley, "I don't know of anybody with more interesting observations about style, taste and contemporary design."

Stephen Bayley is one of the world's best known and outspoken commentators on modern culture, art and design. He contributes regularly to The Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, The Spectator, The Los Angeles Times, High Life, New Statesman, The Independent, and GQ. Cars are on of his many passions, and he has written extensively on automobiles and automobile design for 25 years for both car companies and numerous publications including Car Magazine. He was awarded PPA Columnist of the Year for his car column in (British) GQ.

As a design consultant his clients include: Ford, Absolut Vodka, Volkswagen, Audi, Foster Associates, BMW, the V&A Museum, among others. Former Chief Executive of the Design Museum, the world's leading museum devoted to contemporary design, he appears frequently on radio and television, and lectures at museums and universities all over the world. His numerous books include Design: Intelligence Made Visible with co-author Terence Conran, published by Conran Octopus.

Mr. Bayley has been a judge at many national and international design competitions, including Campaign Press Awards, RIBA Architectural Awards, The Building Awards, Louis Vuitton Concours d'Elegance at Hurlingham, Cartier Style et Luxe at Goodwood, and the BBC Good Food Awards.

In 1989 he was made a Chevalier de L'Ordre des Arts et Des Lettres, France's top artistic honour, by the French Minister of Culture.

He lives in London.

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Zachary Wilson

Bayley is back and better than ever

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2015

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I enjoyed this book as much, if not more than Bayley's original masterpiece, Taste. It's important to note that this book is not an attempt to define ugliness, but to examine our relationship with ugliness throughout history. It's a fantastically well designed book, featuring full page photographic plates illustrating Bayley's witty and insightful points. The epic shade throwing found in Taste is still here, but tempered a bit. Is Bayley mellowing in his old age? I do wish that the author had been a little more declarative about what he actually believes and who he agrees with, but that ambiguity didn't diminish the amount it made me think and examine our culture through his lens.

4 people found this helpful

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Penny Thoughtful

Familiar

Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2013

I rather enjoyed this lively book, not least because it mentions I.H. 35, the highway that runs from Laredo, Texas to Duluth, Minnesota--and not entirely in an uncomplimentary fashion. The book has an attention-grabbing blend of old and new, with clever commentary.

3 people found this helpful

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Shagane Barsegian

cool, new

Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2016

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Each page is a mini dive into a question. Odd, different, cool, new, mind opening. I liked the odd nature and nonconventional style of this book. It's one of my favorites to look at culture and production.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

maria sølvtofte

Great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 1, 2013

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Interesting and well written book on a very broad topic. It gives the reader a nice and also humoristic historic view on the term "Ugly". Some chapters in the book seem a bit weak compared to the others. Overall a great read that makes you want to dig deeper into the world of ugliness.

4 people found this helpful

Shivvy

Ugly

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2022

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Bought as a gift.. recipient was chuffed

Rob

Great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 12, 2021

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