Counter Culture: The Allure of Mini-Mannequins [Hardcover]

Louise Fili (Author), Steven Heller (Author), T. Cenicola (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2002

If sex sells, what better come-on for merchants of the repressed decades of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s than the come-hither wink of a coquettish countertop mannequin? In Counter Culture, Steven Heller and Louise Fili take us on a colorful peep show of these sexy, sometimes erotic, but always fetishistic, plaster bodies and body parts. Theirs is a surreal look at how mannequins play on consumers' desires, acting as agents of seduction, beckoning us toward that ultimate act--the consumption of goods. In this entertaining book, Heller and Fili unearth the fault line between sex and shopping--between voyeurism and "just looking"--that underlies much of modern commerce.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tiny, glamorous, with cheekbones and lips to rival those of Hollywood sirens, miniature countertop mannequins graced stores from the 1920s to the 1960s. Eventually abandoned by retailers, these delicately detailed statuettes, now collectors' items, are documented by New York Times art director Steven Heller and designer Louise Fili in Counter Culture: The Allure of Mini-Mannequins. Color photographs show off the intricacy of the Lilliputian figures (whose clothing was sometimes an exact replica of the full-size version, down to the zippers and hooks), while the authors describe how the mannequins were designed, cast and exhibited in an age when in-store displays were a vital form of advertising. And at 61/4" 47/8", the book is perfectly scaled.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Steven Heller is the art director of the New York Times Book Review. He is the author of over ninety books on graphic design, popular art, and satiric art. He lives in New York City.

Louise Fili is principal of Louise Fili Ltd., and the recipient of numerous design awards. She lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Archit.Press; 1 edition (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568983042
• ISBN-13: 978-1568983042
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #844,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Packed with a colorful survey of commercial culture, February 5, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Counter Culture: The Allure of Mini-Mannequins (Hardcover)

The small-statured Counter Culture by Steven Heller and Louise Fili may too easily be missed on laden shelves, but is packed with a colorful survey of commercial culture examining how mini-mannequins and other counter displays both created art and appealed to consumer interests. Color photos of these mannequins pack the pages.