Petro-modernity is a local phenomenon essential to the history of Kuwait, while also a global experience and one of the prime sources of climate change. The book investigates petroleum's role in the visual culture of Kuwait to understand the intersecting ideologies of modernization, political representation, and oil. The notion of iridescence, the ambiguous yet mesmerizing effect of a rainbowlike color play, serves as analytical-aesthetic concept to discuss petroleum's ambiguous contribution to modernity: both promise of prosperity and destructive force of socio-cultural and ecological environments. Covering a broad spectrum of historical material from aerial and color photography, visual arts, postage stamps, and master plans to architecture and also contemporary art from the Gulf, it dismantles petro- modernity's visual legacy.

The leaded and cemented stained glass of the workshop of Heinrich Staubli (1926-2016), St. Gallen, which is integrated into churches, restaurants, and schools, continues to shape the built environment of Eastern Switzerland today. The output of the workshop is characterized by relations among stained glass, murals, and graphic, textile, and funerary arts. This is the first analysis of the artworks and the estate from the perspective of intermediality and within the framework of modern art history. The study offers a systematic contextualization of Staubli's work within the history of stained-glass art in German-speaking countries, elucidating not only the operations of the artistic workshop but, more broadly, the artistic-social relevance of stained glass far beyond Switzerland in the 20th century.

Glass is one of the most fascinating and versatile building materials in architectural history. The new insights into glass in architecture are the result of research at the intersection of glass production, construction technology and building culture. Coming from a variety of disciplines, the contributions bridge the divide between natural sciences, humanities and the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage. They explore the crucial role of flat glass in shaping architecture, particularly since the 18th century, and discuss the in-situ restoration of historic windows and glass façades and the importance of preserving this fragile heritage. The topics range from the manufacture of sheet glass in pre-industrial times to the possibilities of repair and reusability of insulating glazing. With contributions by Océane Bailleul, Peter Bellendorf, Stefan Bichlmair, Catherine Blaine, Anne-Laure Carré, Niels De Temmerman, Matthias Fischer, Susanne Fischer, Waldo Galle, Josef Ganka, Esther Geboes, Emma Groult, Melchior Fischli, Ueli Fritz, Florin Gstöhl, Isabel Haupt, Laura Hindelang, Hauke Horn, Peter Heinrich Jahn, Olivia Jorgji, Dunja Kielmann, Ralf Kilian, Katrin Lenz, Giulia Marino, Christine Milch, Angelika Reiff, Alexandra Schmölder, Logan Sisley, Helen Spencer, Ruth Tenschert, Vitaly Volkov and Sophie Wolf A multi-disciplinary survey of the history of the production and use of flat glass From the Roman times to the present day New insights on sheet glass as building material and cultural heritage