1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910784399403321

Autore

Marling Karal Ann

Titolo

The colossus of roads : myth and symbol along the American highway / / Karal Ann Marling ; with an album of Minnesota photographs by Liz Harrison and additional photography by Bruce White

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Minneapolis, : University of Minnesota Press, c1984, 1985 printing

ISBN

0-8166-9206-8

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (153 pages) : illustrations

Disciplina

745.0973

745/.0973

Soggetti

Folk art - United States - Psychological aspects

Symbolism in art - United States

Folklore - United States - Themes, motives

Popular culture - United States - Psychological aspects

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliography: p. [103]-126.

Nota di contenuto

Contents; Preface; TALL TALES, TRADEMARKS, AND THE GREAT GATSBY: Midwestern Space Defined; THE HOAX, THE AD, AND THE FRONTIER: Mythological Giants Arise to Fill the Vastness of the American West; ANXIETY, NOSTALGIA, AND WORLD'S FAIRS: Colossi Mark the Borders of a Modern America; FRONTIERS, HIGHWAYS, AND MINIATURE GOLF: The Tourist Becomes a Roadside Colossus; THE GREAT AMERICAN ROADSIDE: Tourist Sculpture in Minnesota; POSTCARDS, SOUVENIRS, AND COME-ONS: Wayside Giants Sell the American Dream; SCALE, PATRIOTISM, AND FUN: Crossing the Last Frontier of Fantasy

NICK CARRAWAY, PAUL BUNYAN, AND BABE, THE BLUE OX: Why Gatsby is ""Great""Notes; Minnesota Colossi; Other Colossi; Photo Album

Sommario/riassunto

A rich and lively examination of this curious and pervasive tradition.Karal Ann Marling visits dozens of roadside attractions, viewing them analytically, intellectually, and enthusiastically, tracing each one through folklore and literature. Heavily illustrated, this book takes the reader on the road to examine these treasures and all that they represent.