This ground-breaking study of modern art, architecture, design and film examines the Cold War as a conflict between differing conceptions of modern life. This was a period of great political tensions and exceptional creativity touching every aspect of life, from everyday products to the highest arenas of human achievement in science and culture. Art and design played a central role in representing and sometimes challenging the dominant political and social ideas of the age. Cold War Modern is an ambitious review of the geography of Cold War modernity, including works from the Socialist Bloc and western Europe, the United States, Cuba and Japan. Essays on subjects as diverse as Cold War strategy, domesticity and hi-tech design developments are illustrated with remarkable images by internationally renowned artists and designers from Picasso to Kubrick, alongside the forgotten figures of the Cold War era.