Julius Shulman's Vision
Photographer Julius Shulman has died. He will be remembered as the man who captured the bright, clean style of California’s mid-century modern architecture. The Los Angeles Times obituary is excellent, as is this appreciation by architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne, but Shulman is best remembered through his photographs–some of which will seem familiar to people who have never heard of him. This slideshow of Shulman photos is a great place to start.
Novelist Ayn Rand and husband photographed by Shulman in their Richard Neutra-designed house
For a broader sense of where Julius Shulman fits in American social and cultural history, I recommend this 2006 Atlantic piece by Virginia Postrel. In an interview, Shulman told Postrel to write that he “portrayed what it’s like to live in the modern house.” But Postrel found that Shulman’s photographs did much more:
In fact, he has portrayed something more powerful: an ideal of what it’s like to live in a modern house. Shulman’s photographs are not simply beautiful objects in themselves or re-creations of striking buildings; they are psychologically compelling images that invite viewers to project themselves into the scene. An architectural photograph can conjure three possible desires: “I want that photograph,” “I want that building,” or “I want that life.” Shulman’s best work evokes all three.
I recommend reading the rest of this insightful essay on Julius Shulman by Virginia Postrel. She has also posted some new reflections on Shulman at Deep Glamour.
Still more Shulman:
A nice write-up with more photos at the Architect’s Newspaper.
Los Angeles cultural writer Scott Timberg.
Owen Edwards at Design Observer.
Obituary from the New York Times.
A trailer from a documentary on Shulman, “Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman.”
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