Julius Shulman. Modernism Rediscovered

by Pierluigi Serraino, Julius Shulman (Photographer)

The Master of Modern.  Discoveries from the Julius Shulman vaults
  The buildings burned in our memories, which to us represent the spirit of ’50s and ’60s architectural design, were those whose pictures were widely published in magazines and books; but what about those that got lost in the process, hardly or never appearing in publication?

The exchange of visual information is crucial to the development, evolution, and promotion of architectural movements. If a building is not widely seen, its photograph rarely or never published, it simply does not enter into architectural discourse. Many buildings photographed by Julius Shulman suffered this fate, their images falling into oblivion. With this book, TASCHEN brings them to light, paying homage to California Modernism in all its forms.

The abandoned files of Julius Shulman show us another side of Modernism that has stayed quiet for so many years. Bringing together nearly 250 forgotten masterpieces, Modernism Rediscovered pays tribute to these lesser known yet outstanding contributions to the modern architectural movement. It’s like sneaking into a private history, into homes that have rarely been seen and hardly appreciated as of yet.

Genres: Architecture, Photography

575 pages, Hardcover

First published May 30, 2000

Reviews

[Aidan · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are too few images of any given house to make this book worthwhile from an architectural perspective. No plans, no sections, no elevations. A lot of the houses don't even have clear views. The format is too small. Accompanying text is pointless.

I wouldn't buy it with hindsight.

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In the book there is an attempt to describe the houses verbally, and it fails entirely. It comes out as incoherent, messy, and unclear. There is no use for a text like that, when you (should) have the pictures to show the houses. This book is a perfect example of why one doesn't write about architecture without backing his text up with floor plans, site plans, and other relevant imagery.

Some of the images are interesting. But that's about it. There is no great photography herein, it's average, sometimes awkward, passable.

I could do without this heavy text trying to make it look like it knows what it's talking about, when it's obvious it does not. This brings down the rating. The fact that the book pretends to be about architecture, without clearly showing the houses contained within.

[Sue Dounim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The good is that this is a beautifully printed collection of masterful photographs of some of the best architecture from the modernist period in the US, roughly the 1940s-1970s. Many color but many black and white, excellently printed. Unfortunately, you learn too late, from the "imprint" page at the end of the book, that this is an abridged version of a 3-volume first edition published by Taschen in 2000. Maybe that explains some of the errors and omissions in it.
The book is massive at 415 pages, full of full-bleed color and monochrome photos. Also unfortunately, part of its bulk is due to the fact that the text is presented in English, German, and French.
The first edition consists of three 14 x 18 inch hardcover volumes totalling 1008 pages in a slipcase and if I have the correct information weighs just under 30 pounds. The only copy I was able to locate on abebooks (Jan 2023) was listed for US$900.00.
So taking that into consideration, some comments about the production of the one-volume edition.
On the rear flyleaf and in the text we read: "[Shulman's images of Koenig's Case Study House #22 and Neutra's Kaufmann House] are among the most recognizable and iconic of the 20th Century." Yet among the hundreds of images in this book, guess which two are omitted? For those of us who don't have a complete library of architectural photographs, it would have been handy. Fortunately I just checked out Neutra's book from the library and can study that great building of his.
Also unfortunate from the point of view of us older folks is the use of a hairline sans serif font which is difficult to read except under brilliant light.
Usually there are two pages allotted to each project. At the top of the page there is a 2- to 4-digit number followed by the name of the architect/firm and the building. I'm guessing that the number has to do with Shulman's cataloging system but that is never explained anywhere. There are 8 pages of brief biographies of architects and a one-page bibliography.
The index is full of page reference errors and almost useless. It lists the projects alphabetically by the last name of the architect, or the last name of the first architect of a firm. Some of the page references are correct, some are off by a few pages. This probably happened in the abridgement.
Even with the carps and caveats, there is no question that Shulman was a master of his specialty of architectural photography and I recommend this book (or the original if you can manage it) to any serious student of either.

[Tom M (London) · Rating 4 out of 5]

NB this review refers to the 1-volume paperback.

"Uncle Julius" as he liked to call himself, was the great photographer who embedded the images of California luxury modernism in the mind of all architects, carefully choosing his angles and times of day, arranging furniture and getting people to stand in particular positions in order to set up each picture like a stage set. This book is a very rich compendium of full-page photographs of (mainly) luxury homes by architects well known and little-known, designed for people who had plenty of money to spend on living in the hills near the city, lounging by pools, walking in and out with drinks in their hands, living a lifestyle that to most people happened on another planet. Amazing.

[Amy Paget · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fabulous article in the New York Times, http://nyti.ms/I1DJfg, about photographer Julius Shulman, prompted me to dive into TCPL’s architecture collection. I came out with Modernism Rediscovered, by Pierluigi Serraino and Julius Shulman. Containing over 300 modern masterpieces, ArtNews said “If buildings were people, those in Julius Shulman’s photographs would be Grace Kelly: classically elegant, intriguingly remote. Modernism Rediscovered is highly browsable and will have you looking at the urban landscape in an entirely different fashion. Locally, the Curtis Grace House received Mid-Century Modern Stewardship Award from the Indiana Modern Committee of Indiana Landmarks, Indianapolis. It can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/KTnJqa.

[Richard Nicholson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three of my favourite interests - mid-century design, architecture, and photography. I was in heaven the day I bought this book, and am every time I pick it up! Yeah, I'm a geek but Shulman was one of the best to capture the 50's & 60's architectural design period referred to as California modernism (or post-Modernism if you're from the old school of thought).

I can't wait to see the documentary 'Visual Acoustics' which I believe will be playing at the New Zealand International Film Festival this month.

[Leonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't intend to read this massive trilingual volume with hundreds of architectural photos from the 50s and 60s.... And I didn't read...just looked the pictures. Many seemed to be similar to others and most are black and white. But the Modernism architecture that is the topic of this book is interesting and very influential today. I also find it a lot more practical, convenient, and comfortable than most other types of architectural especially those used in a home.

[Lee]

Stunning photography of America's foremost photographers of the modernist period. The text is dry as dust, but the photos speak for themselves.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a rewarding & inspiring book. A pleasure to see all of the wonderful projects created by great architects and captured so well by Julius. Probably my favorite book of his photography.

[Tom Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing history of mid-century modern architecture, great photos and insights from Schulman. This was his last book and he was heavily involved in its production.