Images of the Pacific Rim
$59.95
By Erika Esau
Australia and California have shared aesthetic ideas through imported popular imagery for nearly two hundred years. From gold rush photography to Spanish-style houses, Images of the Pacific Rim: Australia and California, 1850-1935 tells the fascinating story of aesthetic exchange between two 'cultures on the periphery'. The absorption of images into the everyday life of these 'new' Western societies, made possible by the development of mechanical processes of production, constructed distinctive cultural iconographies and helped to create a sense of place based upon a shared ocean and climate. Through photography, graphic art, architecture, and the ubiquitous eucalyptus, this book reveals the source elements of what became a 'Pacific Rim' aesthetic.
About the Author
Erika Esau is a native Californian who spent more than a decade teaching art history (including the history of Australian art) at the Australian National University, Canberra.
368 pages, paperback, 21 colourand 146 black and white images, 26.6 (h) x 22.1 (w) cm, index.
