Julius Shulman Los Angeles: The Birth of a Modern Metropolis
by Sam Lubell and Douglas Woods; Foreword by Judy McKee ; photography by Julius Shulman
Although we all miss our "Uncle Julius," the publication of this new volume definitely begs the question: do we really need yet another book? Julius Shulman Los Angeles answers the question with a resounding YES. This collection not only shows us alternate views of architectural icons, but also weaves a narrative on the maturation of the city. After a loving foreword by McKee (Julius' daughter), Lubell (editor of The Architect's Newspaper California) posits the parallels of LA's development with Julius' own. Photographs are separated into annotated chapters (City, Development, Houses, Living, Work) that feature street scenes, construction, housing developments, stores, and showrooms-the stuff of life. Counter to his classic, timeless images, these more prosaic, quotidian views are very much of their time and give energy and vitality to history. But the two connected bodies of work share, as Lubell notes, "the same eye for subject, mood, rhythm, framing, space, form, light, shadow, dimensionality, and the telltale visual hook that drew people into his most famous photos." To paraphrase Paul Cezanne's famous comment about Claude Monet: Shulman was only an eye-but what an eye!
Rizzoli International Publications; hardcover; 239 pages; $69.
|
