MODERNISM REDISCOVERED

Julius Shulman, Modernism Rediscovered, 3 Vols.

Mistrz współczesności.

Książka Modernism Rediscovered wypełniona urzekającymi zdjęciami pochodzącymi z osobistego archiwum Juliusa Shulmana, przyczyniła się do wydobycia na światło dzienne wielu zapomnianych arcydzieł architektury. Mieszkającego od 1920 r. w Los Angeles fotografika interesowały przede wszystkim budynki handlowe oraz rezydencjonalne. Odkrył on nieznane wcześniej oblicze kalifornijskiego modernizmu.

W obszernym, 3-tomowym wydaniu znalazły się fotografie blisko 400 odkryć Schulmana: nie tylko architektura Zachodniego Wybrzeża USA ale też ta z Meksyku, Izraela oraz Hong Kongu. Na jego fotografiach znalazły się realizacje m.in. takich architektów, jak: William Beckett, Craig Ellwood, Albert Frey, Frank Gehry, Bruce Goff, Herb Greene, Philip Johnson, Louis I. Kahn, Raymond Kappe, Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard J. Neutra, Pierre Koenig i John Lautner.

Każdy projekt i zdjęcie spośród 260 tyś. innych w ciągu 2 lat osobiście wybierał sam wydawca, Benedikt Taschen. Uzupełnieniem jest wstęp pióra krytyka architektury, Owena Edwardsa oraz wywiad przeprowadzony przez Hunter Drohojowska-Philp.

Modernism Rediscovered to żywy portret czasów współczesnych Schulmanowi. Zdjęcia tego fotografika stały się nieocenionym narzędziem służącym do portretowania stylu życia z połowy XX wieku, zarówno z południowej Kalifornii, jak i całego świata. Zwraca on uwagę nie tylko na wyjątkowe, konstrukcyjne, funkcjonalne lub designerskie walory budowli, ale również na otoczenie oraz mieszkańców zajmujących te przestrzenie. Dzięki połączeniu wrażliwości z intuicją oraz niezwykłym zmysłem kompozycji Schulman zyskał reputację mistrza gatunku, jaką jest fotografia architektury. Dzięki udostępnieniu przez Shulmana jego osobistego archiwum możemy w pełni podziwiać jej kunszt.

The Master of Modern

More discoveries from the Julius Shulman vaults 
 
TASCHEN's Modernism Rediscovered (2000) brought to light for the first time forgotten architectural masterpieces, drawn from photographer Julius Shulman's personal archives. Paying tribute to residential and commercial buildings that had slipped from public view, Shulman`s stunning photographs uncovered a rarely seen side of California Modernism. This extensive, three-volume follow-up to that remarkable volume brings over 400 more architectural gems into the spotlight. Not just restricted to the West Coast this time, the images were taken all across the United States as well as in Mexico, Israel, and Hong Kong.  
 
Each project and photograph in these volumes was personally selected from over 260,000 photographs over a two-year period by publisher Benedikt Taschen, who has enjoyed a close collaboration with the photographer since first publishing Julius Shulman: Architecture and Its Photography (1998). Augmenting the photographs are an introduction by photography critic Owen Edwards, an extensive biography by University of Southern California historian Philip J. Ethington, captions on decorative elements by Los Angeles Modern Auctions founder Peter Loughrey, biographies of key architects, and personal reflections from the photographer himself. Arts writer Hunter Drohojowska-Philp conducted months of interviews with Shulman to construct an informative and lively oral history and portrait of the times.  
 
Julius Shulman's photography was instrumental in crafting the image of the midcentury Southern California lifestyle across the United States and around the world. His work keenly identifies the distinctive structural, functional, and design elements of a building, in the context of both its natural surroundings and the people who occupy the spaces. This sensitivity, combined with his intuitive and brilliant sense of composition and timing, has earned him the reputation as a master of the genre. How fortunate we are that Shulman has once again opened his archives so that we may rediscover his photographs of the world's hidden Modernist treasures.  
 

Featured Architects and Designers:

 
About the artist: 
A resident of Los Angeles since 1920, Julius Shulman documented modernist architecture in Southern California and across the globe for nearly eight decades. His images of Pierre Koenig's Case Study House No. 22 (1960) in Los Angeles and Richard J. Neutra's Kaufmann House (1947) in Palm Springs are among the most recognizable and iconic architectural photographs of the 20th century. Shulman's interest in photography developed into a career when he photographed Neutra's Kun Residence in Los Angeles with his Kodak Vestpocket camera in 1936. Neutra admired young Shulman's images and continued to commission his work. Other leading architects of the time followed suit, as did hundreds of magazines, newspapers, and book publishers. Shulman's numerous awards include the Architectural Photography Medal from the American Institute of Architects (1969), a lifetime achievement award from the International Center of Photography in New York (1998), and honorary doctorates from various academic institutions. He died on July 15, 2009 at the age of 98. 
 
About the authors: 
Hunter Drohojowska-Philp writes about modern art, design and architecture. She is a regular contributor to Artnews, Artnet, Western Interiors and Design, and the Los Angeles Times and the author of Full Bloom: The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe. 
 
Owen Edwards has written about photography for 30 years, for the American Photographer, New York Times Magazine, New York magazine, The Village Voice, Saturday Review, Vogue, Smithsonian magazine, and many other publications. 
 
Philip J. Ethington is Professor of History and Political Science at the University of Southern California and North American Editor of the journal Urban History. He is currently completing a large-format graphic book and online publication called Ghost Metropolis, Los Angeles, 1542-2001.  
 
Peter Loughrey is director of Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) specializing in 20th Century Design by architects.