Book excerpt: Flamboyant. Ornamental. Unconventional. An unprecedented exploration into Rococo style. Rococo: The Continuing Curve, which accompanies a major exhibition opening March 2008 at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, is a groundbreaking work exploring the sensuous and organic rococo style and its many revivals (such as art nouveau) from the early eighteenth century up to the present day in multiple fields, including furniture, decorative arts, prints, drawings, and textiles. More than 300 lavish full-colour illustrations and more than a dozen original essays chart the progress of the styles as it radiated from master craftsmen in Paris throughout France, England, Germany, the Netherlands, and other European countries, and later crossed the Atlantic to the United States. AUTHOR: Rococo: The Continuing Curve is organized by Sarah Coffin, head of the product design and decorative arts department. Gail Daidson, head of drawings, prints, and graphic design department. Guest curator Penelope Hunter-Stiebel. Ellen Lupton, is curator of contemporary design. 300 illustrations