Julius Shulman, Modernism Rediscovered
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 720
EAN: 9783822842874
Format: Illustrated
ISBN: 3822842877
Label: Taschen
Manufacturer: Taschen
Number Of Items: 3
Number Of Pages: 1008
Publication Date: October 30, 2007
Publisher: Taschen
Studio: Taschen
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Modernist masterpieces lost and found: Rare photographs by Julius Shulman TASCHEN's Modernism Rediscovered brought to light for the first time some 300 forgotten architectural masterpieces, drawn from photographer Julius Shulman's personal archives. Paying tribute to houses and 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 hundreds more architectural gems into the spotlight. The photographs, most of which are published here for the first time in a book, depict buildings by Albert Frey, Louis Kahn, John Lautner, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Richard Neutra, and more, as well as the work of many lesser known architects. 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. Widely considered the greatest architectural photographer of our time, Julius Shulman has once again opened his archives so that we may rediscover the world's hidden Modernist treasures. The author: Hunter Drohojowska-Philp writes about modern art, design and architecture. Full Bloom: The Art and Life of Georgia O?Keeffe, her first book and the most definitive biography of the artist to date, was published in 2004. She is a regular contributor to Artnews, Artnet, Western Interiors and Design, and the Los Angeles Times.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - A Must for the Mid-Mod Lover
These books were my birthday present to myself, and I can't imagine a better gift! They are GORGEOUS and huge, with full-page photos (some in color) on heavy paper, and text for each spread. The architecture is inspired, and, as always, Shulman's photographs capture the spirit, innovation, and excitement of the times. Too bad such individualism has given way to cookie-cutter McMansions and, with few exceptions, lackluster design seen everywhere in today's architecture.
The only criticism I have of these books is that, as with most mid century architectural tomes, most of the photos in the book are from locations in California by architects we've already heard of. I would like to see photos of buildings in other parts of the country by lesser known, but equally inspired, architects.
Finally, I hope that, with the abundance of photos in Shulman's archive, this Modernism Rediscovered series continues with more books in the future. I know that I will be first in line to buy future volumes if they are as well done as the original Modernism Rediscovered book and these three follow-up books.
Rating: - Shulman Modernism
A fittingly huge tribute to the man who captured Modernism in western America and especially in California. I thought the beauty of these three large books (check out the weight and dimensions in the Product Details section) was the way they are organized: historically using Shulman's own job reference numbers. Obviously there is not going to be a photo of every commission because a lot of his time was spent on what he calls 'bread and butter work'. So book 1 starts with #0003 in 1939 with Gregory Ain's Scheyer residence in LA and book 3 ends in 1981 with #5976 Augustin Hernandez's studio in Mexico City. Although Shulman is working again, with German photographer Juergen Nogai, the contents of the three books are based on the 250,000 negatives he presented to the Getty Research Institute upon retiring in 2004.
I get the impression looking through the pages that there maybe more interior photos than exteriors but what a visual treat these interiors are. In photo after photo, there is a sense of spaciousness so typical of most modernist houses and many of the shots show how rooms extend into other living areas.
The interiors from the Forties to the late Seventies also yield a fascinating opportunity to study the furniture and fittings the owners thought would work well in a modern home. Owing to the large page size some of these domestic interior photos are twenty-three inches wide on a spread so the detail is amazing. Another interesting point about a Shulman photo is the addition of people in his work. Apparently frowned upon at the time by architects but he took the view that it was an opportunity to reduce the purity (and possibly elitism) of Modernism in a domestic setting.
Among all the great home photos commercial work covers corporate headquarters of large companies, schools, research facilities, banks, retail units and restaurants. The same sense of space and depth comes across in these images and I think you'll come to the same conclusion as I did about Shulman's photography: that he always managed to frame his compositions to captured the spatial essence of a building.
The production of the three books is exemplary as you would expect from Taschen. The hundreds of photos are printed on quality paper with a 200dpi screen and presented in an elegant but simple layout. Each featured commission has between one and six photos with a short piece of background copy. All of this is a wonderful tribute to a remarkable architectural photographer. I know I'll be enjoying these three books for a long, long time.
***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.
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