RETRO: THE CULTURE OF REVIVAL

the long version

"Drawing upon a wealth of original research and anecdotal material, Guffey unearths the roots of the term retro and chronicles its manifestations in culture and art throughout the last century. From the comeback of Art nouveau nearly fifty years after its original decline to the infusion of Art Deco into the kitsch glamour of Pop art, the idea of retro has often meant a re-emergence of styles and fashions that evoke familiar touchstones of memory from the not-so-distant past, such as the drug-induced surrealism of psychedelic art and the political expressions of 1970s afros. Reinforcing such tends in art, design, fashion and music, advertisers and the media have seized upon the power of cultural nostalgia to promote a surprising range of products."--Jacket.