Julius Shulman

Infobox Person
name = Julius Shulman


image_size = 250px
caption = Los Angeles California Fire Station No. 28 by Julius Shulman
birth_date = birth date and age|1910|10|10
birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, United States
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = Architectural photographer

Julius Shulman (born October 10, 1910) is an American architectural photographer best known for his photograph "Case Study House #22 [ [http://www-users.rwth-aachen.de/Ivan.Gemov/3.jpgCase Study House #22 - photograph] Getty Museum] , Los Angeles, 1960. Pierre Koenig, Architect." The house is also known as The Stahl House. Shulman's photography spread California modernism around the world. Through his many books, exhibits and personal appearances his work ushered in a new appreciation for the movement beginning in the 1990s. His vast library of images currently reside at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. His contemporaries include Ezra Stoller and Hedrich Blessing.

Julius Shulman's images of Californian architecture have burned themselves into the retina of the 20th century. A book on modern architecture without Shulman is inconceivable. Some of his architectural photographs, like the iconic shots of Frank Lloyd Wright's or Pierre Koenig's remarkable structures, have been published countless times. The brilliance of buildings like those by Charles Eames, as well as those of his close friend, Richard Neutra, was first brought to light by Shulman's photography.

The clarity of his work demanded that architectural photography had to be considered as an independent art form. Each Shulman image unites perception and understanding for the buildings and their place in the landscape. The precise compositions reveal not just the architectural ideas behind a building's surface, but also the visions and hopes of an entire age. A sense of humanity is always present in his work, even when the human figure is absent from the actual photographs.

Today, a great many of the buildings documented by Shulman have disappeared or been crudely converted, but the thirst for his pioneering images is stronger than ever before.

Exhibitions

The Getty Research Institute held a 2005-2006 exhibition of Shulman's prints entitled "Julius Shulman, Modernity and the Metropolis"Getty Research Institute. [http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/shulman/ Julius Shulman, Modernity and the Metropolis. October 11, 2005 - January 22, 2006.] Retrieved August 29, 2008.] . The exhibition included sections entitled "Framing the California Lifestyle," "Promoting the Power of Modern Architecture," "The Tools of an Innovator," and "The Development of a Metropolis". The exhibition traveled to the National Building Museum [National Building Museum. [http://www.nbm.org/exhibitions-collections/exhibitions/julius-shulman.html Julius Shulman: Modernity and the Metropolis.] April 1, 2006 - July 30, 2006. Retrieved August 29, 2008.] and to the Art Institute of Chicago [Art Institute of Chicago. [http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/exhibition/shulman Julius Shulman: Modernity and the Metropolis.] September 2, 2006 - December 3, 2006. Retrieved August 29, 2008.] .

On December 16, 2007 Shulman attended a showing of his architectural photography at the Los Angeles Public Library [Los Angeles Public Library. [http://www.lapl.org/events/shulman/index.html Julius Shulman's Los Angeles. October 6, 2007 - January 27, 2008.] Retrieved August 29, 2008.] . The exhibit, organized by the Getty Research Institute, included one hundred fifty photographs documenting architectural changes in Los Angeles for the last eighty years. This progression includes the re-development of Bunker Hill, the growth of Century City, the avant-garde architectural designs in Los Angeles, such as Watts Towers, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and the Getty Villa, as well as the growth of Wilshire Boulevard. The exhibition features the industrial engines at the Port of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles International Airport that helped fuel the growth of Los Angeles Also, featured diverse residential fabric from Echo Park to South Los Angeles. The exhibit spot-lighted Shulman's unique role in capturing and promoting innovative, sleek Case Study Houses, as well as the contrasting tract housing developments with repeated floor plans.

Film

"Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman"

Narrated by Dustin Hoffman and directed by Eric Bricker, "Visual Acoustics" explores the career of 97-year-old architectural photographer, Julius Shulman. Populating his photos with human models and striking landscapes, Shulman combined organic with synthetic, melding nature with contemporary design. These images shaped the careers of some of the great architects of the 20th Century. Exploring Shulman’s art and uniquely creative life, "Visual Acoustics" offers an unforgettable portrait of Modernism’s most eloquent ambassador.

Bibliography

*“Shulman face to face,” interview with Julius Shulman, "CA Modern magazine", Summer 2007, pp. 16-17 by Jeffrey Head
*"Case Study House #21", "A Conversation with Julius Shulman” Summer 2006, pp. 9-12 by Jeffrey Head. Published by (Richard) Wright, Chicago.

References

External links

* [http://kcet.org/explore-ca/california-stories/shelter/shulman/index.php Julius Shulman: Man Behind the Camera (kcet.org)]
* [http://www.shpcontemporary.com/shulman Julius Shulman prints & photographs at SHPcontemporary fine art]
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5051514 NPR] "Architectural Photographer Julius Shulman"
* [http://www.usc.edu/dept/architecture/shulman/ An online collection of Shulman photographs at USC]
* [http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/books/artists_editions/all/facts/01026.htm The German publisher Taschen has released several books and photographic editions by Shulman]
* [http://woodbury.edu/print.aspx?pgID=871&newsID=226&exCompID=621 Julius Shulman Institute at Woodbury University]
* [http://www.juliusshulmanfilm.com/ VISUAL ACOUSTICS The Modernism Of Julius Shulman]
* [http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/special_collections/shulman.html Julius Shulman Resources. Getty Research Institute, Research Library. Los Angeles, California]
* [http://library.getty.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=657475 Julius Shulman photography archive, 1936-1997. Getty Research Institute, Research Library. Los Angeles, California.] Collection contains over 260,000 negatives, vintage and modern prints, transparencies, and related printed matter documenting the modern movement in architecture in Southern California from the 1930s through 1997, including the Case Study Houses.