Spectacle: An Optimist's Handbook

In Spectacle, the architect David Rockwell, in collaborationwith designer Bruce Mau, explores the allure of larger-than-life eventsthat take place around the globe. From the running of the bulls in Pamplonato the Holi Festival in India to deafening - and dangerous - NASCAR races,Spectacle considers what it is about these "shared, live experiences" thattransforms not only the way we see the world, but also how we connect witheach other.Illustrated with over 200 color photographs, the dynamic visual essayhighlights the power of real-time, real-space events in today''s highlymediated world. The book features a collection of photographs andinterviews with award-winning authors, producers, directors, andperformers. These contributors have documented, participated in, orproduced large events and bring a fascinating behind-the-scenes and infront-of-the footlights perspective on "spectacles" today. Interviewsinclude: Muhammad Ali, champion boxer; Kurt Anderson, novelist andessayist; Simon Doonan, author and creative director;Dave Hickey, artcritic; Quincy Jones, legendary music and event producer; Guy Lalibert+,founder of Cirque du Soleil; Julie Taymor, film and theater director;Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, architects; John Waters, filmmaker;and Steve Wynn, Las Vegas mega-developer, with a concluding essay by criticHerbert Muschamp.The book offers readers an unprecedented tour of over 60 far-flung andfleeting, beautiful and bizaare manmade events around the world.Anin-depth selection of "spectacles" are presented thematically in sixchapters that focus on various characteristics and unique culturalattributes that connect or distinguish each of the events.Spectacle offers statistics and sidebars on the history of featured events,providing layers of information that add depth and context.Further, areference section called "Getting There" contains a monthly calendarlisting more global spectacles throughout the year, maps and insider tipsyou should know before you go."An empty stadium, an open field or a busy urban thoroughfare, each--whentransformed by spectacle--undergoes an alchemic process," says DavidRockwell. "A group of strangers fuses into an instant community. As anarchitect I strive to make environments where people connect. This isrooted in vivid recollections of my childhood--from amateur theater on theJersey shore to the open air markets of Guadalajara Mexico--that have mademe deeply aware of the power of shared experience. By physically attendingan event, you declare yourself; you become something greater than you."From the glitzy appeal of Las Vegas to the historical reenactment of theCalcio Storico in Florence, Spectacle presents an extraodordinarycollection of images and text that convey the palpable buzz, sheer beautyand unusual fascination of public performance around the globe.If you arean armchair traveler or spontanieous jetsetter, David Rockwell and BruceMau offer a mesmerizing, thought-provoking journey into the world ofspectacle that is bound to encourage not only conversation but alsoparticipation.

Bruce Mau is the Chairman and Creative Directer of Bruce Mau Design, which has gained international recognition for innovative multidisciplinary work. He is the author of Life Style and Massive Change, both published by Phaidon, and designed and conceived the award-winning book S, M, L, XL with Rem Koolhaas.

David Rockwell is the founder and CEO of Rockwell Group in New York, an internationally acclaimed architecture, planning, and design firm specializing in restaurant, cultural, educational, theatre and film design.