Swinging City by Simon Rycroft - 9781138253155

Taylor & Francis

This book contrasts two imaginings of 1960s London: the excess and comic vacuousness of Swinging London, and the radical politics generated by the city's counter-culture. These disparate perspectives combine to form a shared imagination associated with a new understanding of nature, which differently positioned humanity and technology. A study of this transformation allows for a new understanding of the dynamics of post-war London's re-emergence as a cultural capital. > This book works with two contrasting imaginings of 1960s London: the one of the excess and comic vacuousness of Swinging London, the other of the radical and experimental cultural politics generated by the city's counterculture. The connections between these two scenes are mapped looking firstly at the spectacular events that shaped post-war London, then at the modernist physical and social reconstruction of the city alongside artistic experiments such as Pop and Op Art. Making extensive use of London's undergroundK