Icons and aliens

the long version

In Icons and Aliens, John Costonis looks at such pairings and probes why they evoke outrage, why the outraged seek the protection of the legal system to prevent the pairings, and what the law can - and cannot - do in response. Bridging the fields of law and design, Costonis discards conventional rationales for aesthetics policymaking in favor of a compelling account of the psychological forces driving America's support for historic preservation, neighborhood conservation, and environmentalism. Numerous New Yorker cartoons and black-and-white photographs accompany the text, depicting the strength and foibles of legal aesthetics.