Regarding Paul R. Williams: A Photographer’s View
by Janna Ireland
This is not a book
of architectural photography, yet it is a book filled with photographs of
architecture. Fine-art photographer Ireland turns her lens to Williams’ work,
creating a portfolio of intimate, moody, and seductive black-and-white images.
This approach leads to an emotional reaction to architecture, taking building
out of the analytical realm that is so often its mode of interpretation. The
images flow into each other with no indication of project, site, or date. This
tried my patience at first. Then even more when I consulted the “Image
Locations” list at the end, which were mostly vague, particularly for the
houses. I want to know where that stairway is, beyond it being somewhere in
Encino! Eventually, I came to see that without the structure of chronology,
geography, or notations, I was forced to acknowledge that Ireland is not
documenting facts, and to regard the images—and by extension Williams’
projects—for their beauty and meaning. Angel City Press,
2020, 224 pages, hardcover, $50.
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