Description: Cinema by Design traces Art Nouveau's long history in films from various decades and global locales, appreciating the movement's enduring avant-garde aesthetics. Lucy Fischer explains why an art movement embedded in modernist sensibilities can flourish in contemporary film through its visions of nature, gender, sexuality, and the exotic.
Brief description: Reader #2 - Lucy Fischer is Distinguished Professor of English and Director of Film Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. She is the author of many books, including Designing Women: Cinema, Art Deco, and the Female Form (Columbia University Press, 2003). I chose her for her work in film history.
Review Quotes: Fischer writes with her customary authoritative brilliance, creating a book that fills a significant gap in cinema history. . . . Highly recommended.--Choice