Expressionist Utopias.

Timothy O. Benson. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Distributed by University of Washington Press, P. O. Box 5 0096, Seattle, WA 98145. Illus., 324 pp., hardcover, $65.00.

This book's subtitle, Paradise, Metropolis, Architectural Fantasy, hints at the Romantic roots of the notion of a Utopian vision. Prepared in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name, this book pursues the study of Utopian concepts and metaphors as noted in post-World War I German Expressionism. While the book revolves around architectural invention, the 288 illustrations, 57 in color, feature drawings, paintings, prints, stage sets and film. A number of works by the impressive, but little-known German woman artist, Hannah Hoch, are featured along with an in-depth discussion of Fritz Lang's monumental 1927 film, Metropolis. While serving as a catalog for the exhibition, the opportunity to view unfamiliar images by known artists (Kandinsky, Klee, Feininger) and lesser-known artists and architects, combines to make this volume an important contribution to any study of creative expression, or any concept related to the book's title/subtitle. Also of note are the succinct but informative biographies of the seventy-eight featured artists, architects and musicians, and an interesting appendix with many of their essays, articles, manifestos and other writings.