Julius Shulman’s Los Angeles, at the Central Library’s Getty Gallery from October 6, 2007–January 20, 2008, kicks off the celebration of the Getty Center’s 10th anniversary and includes 150 rarely seen photographs from the Julius Shulman photography archive at the Getty Research Institute (GRI). The Central Library is located at 630 W. Fifth St., downtown. The exhibit is free and open during regular library hours: Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.
“The Central Library and the Getty have a long history of partnership, most notably in the days after the fire that nearly destroyed the library in 1986, when the Getty’s support helped restore the historic murals in this landmark building,” says City Librarian Fontayne Holmes. “To have the Getty Research Institute mount this extraordinary exhibition in the Getty Gallery is a special treat for us and our visitors.”
Acquired by the Getty Research Institute in 2005, this important archive, containing over 260,000 color and black-and-white negatives, prints, and transparencies, greatly enhances the architecture-related holdings in the Getty Research Library, which has become home to one of the world’s largest collections devoted to art and architecture.
“Julius Shulman's Los Angeles is in essence an exhibition about the famous photographer's love for his own city in all its aspects. We are very excited to have the opportunity to share his stunning photographs in the heart of downtown at the Los Angeles Public Library,” said Wim de Wit, head of the GRI’s Special Collections and Visual Resources and curator of architecture, who curated the show with Christopher James Alexander, the GRI’s associate curator of architecture.
The compelling presentation features seven photographic narratives: the competing urban developments of Bunker Hill and Century City; the exotic architectural expressions of Los Angeles, such as Watts Towers, and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre; the growth of Wilshire Boulevard; the industrial engines at the Port of Los Angeles and LAX that powered the city’s rapid growth; the city's diverse residential fabric from Echo Park to South L.A.; and Shulman's critical role in capturing and promoting innovative, sleek Case Study Houses, as well as cookie-cutter tract housing developments.
The exhibition will also include renderings of current urban developments underway, so that visitors can compare Shulman’s historic photographic perspectives with images of Los Angeles’ future. In addition to the photographs themselves, the presentation will include a host of related events and educational programming.
“We believe the exhibition will provide visitors with a unique and entertaining glimpse of this city’s development,” adds Alexander. “I hope that seeing Shulman’s images will compel people to continue to explore Los Angeles and create their own photographs of our extraordinary urban landscape.”
The exhibition is presented by the Getty Research Institute, with support from Park Fifth. Exhibits at the Central Library are made possible in part through a grant from The James Irvine Foundation. The exhibition coincides with ArchiFest II, a month-long celebration of architecture in Los Angeles, which takes place in October. -- www.getty.edu
