Julius Shulman
Encyclopedia
Julius Shulman was an American
architectural photographer best known for his photograph "Case Study House #22, Los Angeles, 1960. Pierre Koenig
, Architect." The house is also known as The Stahl House. Shulman's photography spread California Mid-century modern
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 Photographers
. In 1947, Julius Shulman asked architect Raphael Soriano
to build a mid-century steel home and studio in the Hollywood Hills.
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.
was designated a Cultural Heritage Monument by the city of Los Angeles.
In 2000 Julius Shulman gave up retirement to begin working with business partner Juergen Nogai
.
The Getty Research Institute
held a 2005–2006 exhibition of Shulman's prints entitled "Julius Shulman, Modernity and the Metropolis". 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
and to the Art Institute of Chicago
.
Julius Shulman and Juergen Nogai have had exhibitions at the Design and Architecture Museum in Frankfurt, Germany, in fall 2005 as well as an exhibition at the Barnsdall Municipal Gallery in Los Angeles 2006, Craig Krull Gallery Bergamot station
, Los Angeles, October 2007, and another show in spring 2009. An exhibition of their work is also scheduled in Mannheim, Germany, in 2010.
On Dec. 16, 2007, Shulman attended a showing of his architectural photography at the Los Angeles Public Library. Organized by the Getty Research Institute, the exhibit included 150 photographs documenting architectural changes in Los Angeles over the past 80 years. This progression includes the redevelopment 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 spotlighted 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.
In February 2008, the Palm Springs Art Museum presented "Julius Shulman: Palm Springs," guest curated by Michael Stern. Containing more than 200 objects, it is the largest Julius Shulman exhibition ever presented to date. In addition to photographs and renderings, illustrations and models of many of the buildings Shulman photographed were presented to complement his extensive documentation of a place that was so inspirational to him. Rizzoli published the accompanying catalog, "Julius Shulman: Palm Springs." Additionally, a documentary DVD was produced in conjunction with the exhibition "Julius Shulman: Desert Modern."
Selected Shulman works were included in the Annenberg Space for Photography's inaugural exhibit, L8S ANG3LES . One of his last commissioned works was of the Space, which opened in March, 2009, with Shulman in attendance.
Shulman's last exhibit at Craig Krull Gallery was scheduled for July 4th to August 8th, 2009, but Shulman's death one week into the show caused it to be extended by two weeks . Shulman's daughter Judy Shulman McKee-- along with Krull, Nogai, Benedikt Taschen and Wim de Wit-- spoke at the Getty Center on Sunday, September 20, 2009 during a memorial to celebrate the life of Julius Shulman. Craig Krull Gallery has been Shulman's exclusive gallery representation since 1991 and will be opening a major survey of Shulman's work in September of 2011.
, explores Shulman’s life and work. It discusses how Shulman's images helped to shape the careers of influential 20th century architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright
, Richard Neutra
and John Lautner. The film won the 2009 Palm Springs International Film Festival
Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature as well as awards at the Austin Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival and the Lone Star International Film Festival. The film was released theatrically by Arthouse Films across the U.S. late 2009 through early 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architectural photographer best known for his photograph "Case Study House #22, Los Angeles, 1960. Pierre Koenig
Pierre Koenig
Pierre Koenig was an American architect.Born in San Francisco, he received his B.Arch. in 1952 from the University of Southern California. Koenig apprenticed under Raphael Soriano, among others, and began private practice in 1952. Koenig practiced mainly on the west coast and was most notable for...
, Architect." The house is also known as The Stahl House. Shulman's photography spread California Mid-century modern
Mid-century modern
Mid-Century modern is an architectural, interior and product design form that generally describes mid-20th century developments in modern design, architecture, and urban development from roughly 1933 to 1965...
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
Getty Center
The Getty Center, in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, is a campus for cultural institutions founded by oilman J. Paul Getty. The $1.3 billion center, which opened on December 16, 1997, is also well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles...
in Los Angeles. His contemporaries include Ezra Stoller
Ezra Stoller
Ezra Stoller was an American architectural photographer.Stoller was born in Chicago. His interest in photography began while he was an architecture student at New York University, when he began making lantern slides and photographs of architectural models, drawings and sculpture...
and Hedrich Blessing Photographers
Hedrich Blessing Photographers
Hedrich Blessing Photographers is an architectural photography firm established in Chicago in 1929 by partners Ken Hedrich and Henry Blessing. The Chicago History Museum houses the archive of the first 50 years of photography where it is available for viewing by the public...
. In 1947, Julius Shulman asked architect Raphael Soriano
Raphael Soriano
Raphael S. Soriano, FAIA, was an influential architect and educator who helped define a period of 20th century architecture that came to be known as Mid-century modern...
to build a mid-century steel home and studio in the Hollywood Hills.
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
Richard Neutra
Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
, 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.
Biography
In 1987, the Shulman HouseShulman House
In 1947 architectural photographer Julius Shulman asked architect Raphael Soriano to build a mid-century steel home and studio in the Hollywood Hills. By August 1947 the design was decided upon, and construction began in the early months of 1949. The building took nine months to complete and was...
was designated a Cultural Heritage Monument by the city of Los Angeles.
In 2000 Julius Shulman gave up retirement to begin working with business partner Juergen Nogai
Juergen Nogai
Juergen Nogai is a German architecture, art and documentary photographer.-Early Life:Juergen Nogai began his studies as a Fine Arts major with parallel studies in Film, Theatre and Television Science, and German Language at the University of Cologne, Germany...
.
The Getty Research Institute
Getty Research Institute
The Getty Research Institute , located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, is "dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts". A program of the J...
held a 2005–2006 exhibition of Shulman's prints entitled "Julius Shulman, Modernity and the Metropolis". 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
The National Builders Museum, in Washington, D.C., United States, is a museum of "architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning"...
and to the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
.
Julius Shulman and Juergen Nogai have had exhibitions at the Design and Architecture Museum in Frankfurt, Germany, in fall 2005 as well as an exhibition at the Barnsdall Municipal Gallery in Los Angeles 2006, Craig Krull Gallery Bergamot station
Bergamot Station
Bergamot Station is a facility housing many art galleries in Santa Monica, California, USA.-History:The name "Bergamot Station" dates back to 1875 when it was a stop and car storage area on the steam powered Los Angeles and Independence Railroad from Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles - as well...
, Los Angeles, October 2007, and another show in spring 2009. An exhibition of their work is also scheduled in Mannheim, Germany, in 2010.
On Dec. 16, 2007, Shulman attended a showing of his architectural photography at the Los Angeles Public Library. Organized by the Getty Research Institute, the exhibit included 150 photographs documenting architectural changes in Los Angeles over the past 80 years. This progression includes the redevelopment 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
Getty Villa
The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, California, USA, is one of two locations of the J. Paul Getty Museum. The Getty Villa is an educational center and museum dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria...
, 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 spotlighted 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.
In February 2008, the Palm Springs Art Museum presented "Julius Shulman: Palm Springs," guest curated by Michael Stern. Containing more than 200 objects, it is the largest Julius Shulman exhibition ever presented to date. In addition to photographs and renderings, illustrations and models of many of the buildings Shulman photographed were presented to complement his extensive documentation of a place that was so inspirational to him. Rizzoli published the accompanying catalog, "Julius Shulman: Palm Springs." Additionally, a documentary DVD was produced in conjunction with the exhibition "Julius Shulman: Desert Modern."
Selected Shulman works were included in the Annenberg Space for Photography's inaugural exhibit, L8S ANG3LES . One of his last commissioned works was of the Space, which opened in March, 2009, with Shulman in attendance.
Shulman's last exhibit at Craig Krull Gallery was scheduled for July 4th to August 8th, 2009, but Shulman's death one week into the show caused it to be extended by two weeks . Shulman's daughter Judy Shulman McKee-- along with Krull, Nogai, Benedikt Taschen and Wim de Wit-- spoke at the Getty Center on Sunday, September 20, 2009 during a memorial to celebrate the life of Julius Shulman. Craig Krull Gallery has been Shulman's exclusive gallery representation since 1991 and will be opening a major survey of Shulman's work in September of 2011.
Film
Shulman was the subject of a 2008 documentary film, Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman. The film, directed by Eric Bricker and narrated by Dustin HoffmanDustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
, explores Shulman’s life and work. It discusses how Shulman's images helped to shape the careers of influential 20th century architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
, Richard Neutra
Richard Neutra
Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
and John Lautner. The film won the 2009 Palm Springs International Film Festival
Palm Springs International Film Festival
Palm Springs International Film Festival is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. It was started in 1989 and is held annually in January...
Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature as well as awards at the Austin Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival and the Lone Star International Film Festival. The film was released theatrically by Arthouse Films across the U.S. late 2009 through early 2010.
Death
Shulman died at his home in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday, July 15, 2009; he was 98 years old.External links
- AP Obituary in the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
- Julius Shulman: Man Behind the Camera (kcet.org)
- NPR Architectural Photographer Julius Shulman
- An online collection of Shulman photographs at USC
- Julius Shulman Institute at Woodbury University
- 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.
- Union List of Artist Names, Getty Vocabularies. ULAN Full Record Display for Julius Shulman, Getty Vocabulary Program. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, California.
- Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman
- Photographs of Julius Shulman in the collection of the Canadian Centre for Architecture
- Wall Street Journal "How Julius Shulman Told a House’s Story"
- Julius Shulman at Craig Krull Gallery
- L.A. Utopia: Pierre Koenig Finally Gets His Close-Up