Superscript invites you to the fifth meeting of ADBC, the Architecture and Design Book Club, with our special guest Stephanie Murg.
On Thursday, April 4 join Superscript and art and design writer Stephanie Murg for a discussion of The Ladies’ Paradise by Émile Zola (1883), a novel set amid the the rise of the modern department store in 19th century Paris.
Basing his fictional emporium on spectacular Parisian stores like Bon Marché, Zola describes experimentation with all types of marketing methods—advertising, fixed prices, and, most notably, the dazzling displays that lured customers in from the street, pulling them, floor after floor, through a sea of goods ranging from the exotic to the everyday. We’ll discuss design themes related to consumerism, the modern city, and the rise of the middle class.
The conversation will take place in the second floor galleries at MAD, amid the current exhibition After the Museum: The Home Front 2013, which includes a related installation by Superscript, On Display. The April 4 event is free and open to the public (on Thursdays evenings MAD admission is free/pay-what-you-wish).
Need a copy of the book? Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Oxford University Press, we have several copies of The Ladies’ Paradise (trans. Brian Nelson, 1995) available to give away to guests. Email us at hello@superscript.co to arrange pick up while supplies last!
Guest: Stephanie Murg is a writer whose interests lie at the nexus of art, design, fashion, and capital markets. She edits the design blog UnBeige, lectures widely on design history and visual culture, and has a background in research for JPMorganChase (London), Harvard Business School, and the National Bureau of Economic Research. Her writing appears regularly in publications such as Wallpaper*, ARTnews, Art+Auction, The Architect’s Newspaper, and Smithsonian.
Text: Émile Zola’s The Ladies’ Paradise.
Venue: The Museum of Arts and Design, 2nd fl. galleries, 2 Columbus Circle
Date: Thursday, April 4, 2013
Time:
6:30pm Introduction
6:45-7:30pm Discussion, Q&A
7:30pm Drinks reception
Produced by editorial consultancy Superscript, ADBC is a free and public book club. We invite anyone to drop in and join our informal conversations in different venues around the city.
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