Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The relationship between politics and advertising is controversial, polemic and seen by many as inherently manipulative. It is however, key to the political system in Western democracies and, as such, is well documented. However, one component of this relationship that has yet to be investigated is the role of architecture. This book represents a ground breaking triangular analysis of the relationship between architecture, politics and advertising.
Representation and Reification investigates how images of architecture are used in the UK and US election campaigns as advertising backdrops, sets for photo shoots, metaphors in policy arguments, and how this has silently, but fundamentally, influenced built form through the ages.
No longer seen purely as a case of constructed buildings only evident in dictatorships, this book presents a case for a fundamental reconfiguration of our understanding of political architecture. It is now equally a question of imagery and democracies. Identifying an as yet unexplored relationship between architecture and politics through the medium of commercialised political imagery, it argues this politicised and mediated use of architecture has fundamentally influenced its 20th century development in both the UK and the US.
Synopsis
The relationship between politics and the public relations industry is controversial and, at times, polemic. However, one component of this relationship that has yet to be investigated is the role of architecture. Arguing for a fundamental reconfiguration of our understanding of 'political architecture', this book suggests it is no longer only a question of constructed buildings but equally a case of mediated imagery.
Considered through examples of architecture as a backdrop for photo shoots by politicians in the democracies of the United States and the United Kingdom this book suggests these images give us both a better understand recent developments in Western political economy and the architectural and urban developments of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries.
Using case studies of Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, David Cameron, Barack Obama, George W Bush and Donald Trump, this book represents a ground breaking triangular analysis that will be essential reading for scholars in architecture, politics and media and communication studies.