Julius Shulman

While I was in downtown Los Angeles today, I stopped by the Getty Gallery exhibition "Julius Shulman's Los Angeles" at the LA Central Library. I wasn't expecting much since I had never gone to an exhibition at the library, but I'm glad I went. Since 1936, Shulman has been recording the development of Los Angeles--as he puts it, he has grown older with the city. The show focuses on the growth of Bunker Hill, Century City, and Wilshire Blvd as well as the diverse residential fabric, from the Case Study Houses to the bungalow courts to the cookie-cutter tract houses.

I was especially taken by the way Shulman staged his photographs to create a more attractive and dynamic effect. The iconic images of the Case Study Houses were paired with original, rarely seen photos which were banal and uninteresting in character. The juxtaposition demonstrates the ways that details and composition can enhance an image. For the photo of Pierre Koenig's Case Study House #22, in which one wing of the house cantilevers above the glittery city below, Shulman rearranged the furniture and strategically placed two stylish young women to add glamor to the otherwise minimal setting.

The exhibition seems to have been created in part to educate the public about the historic fabric of the city and its alteration, and in some cases destruction. The label texts were not preachy but informative about the changes taking place. Unfortunately the exhibition was not having the kind of effect that the organizers might have hoped. They left a blank volume on a table for visitors to identify buildings that had historical value. These buildings could be included in the project to record (by photographs and documents) historically significant architecture of LA. Since the exhibition has been open since October, I hope that one volume has already been filled because the one there this week was full of illegible scribbles.

If you have time before January 27, I highly recommend checking out the exhibition. Even if you might not know much about architecture, the photos are beautiful and there's a fun video of a spritely Shulman discussing some of his work.

JULIUS SHULMAN'S LOS ANGELES
October 6, 2007 - January 27, 2008
Central Library - Getty Gallery

for more information, visit http://www.lapl.org/events/shulman/