Inside Culture: Art and Class in the American Home

Rating:
Summary: Silly, pretentious, and without a cohesive thesis
Review: I did not find this book entertaining or informative. It appears to be a general survey work, lacking in testable theories, and largely the result of data mining. Terms are loosely defined, and the "Scientific" portions of the data are laughable. One chart claims to represent "Political affiliation of residents who have primitive art, by their attitude to the art" and, remarkably, people have only two attitudes at all - co-equal with western art, or "disrepect or in Darwinian terms" Even better, the total who view with "disrespect" was 15 people. Quite the illustrative survey. The sort of garbage that gives all liberal arts a bad name.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent dissection of artistic taste among social classes
Review: This book is a fascinating documentary of art in modern american homes of all races, religions, and socioeconomic classes. Detailed, in-depth, and filled with amazing observation, You will realize why abstract art is frowned upon by the lower classes, why religious crosses and art are virtually absent from the upper class homes, why african/primitive art is found in both black and white neighborhoods, why landscapes are so popular among all classes, and other sociological phenomena on artistic taste and design in today's homes. Halle and his team have backed up all their findings with stats and references, so it's very handy if you're doing research.

Halle was one of my professors at UCLA who constantly amazed his classes with his knowledge on art and society; discussing the merits of Mies and Le Corbusier. Although this may be considered a university course book, it does not read like one. Instead it reads pleasurably and smoothly like a good novel--I myself curl up with it as a comforting, interesting read.

If you are interested in the psychology of design and art on today's society, take a moment to read this. I still read this book over and over again, and always finish feeling fascinated and enlightened.