Southern Californialand: Mid-Century Culture in Kodachrome

by Charles Phoenix

Phoenix presents the colorful region as the locals saw it through the lens of their cameras in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s--more than 170 images printed from the best of Phoenix's collection of other people's old slides. He takes us into the living rooms and backyards of real people, and travels with them uptown and downtown, visiting the famous attractions along the way. He shows the lifestyle and landscape from Santa Barbara to San Diego, from the desert to the sea, filled with futurism, escapism, the unconventional and the hauntingly normal.--From publisher description.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Americana

143 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Combine post war optimism, the Southern California midcentury lifestyle and Kodachrome film and you get an explosion of colorful snapshots from a bygone era. Seen from the viewpoint of Californians - not professional photographers - the result is a candid, intimate portrait of a a carefree, playful, and often times hedonistic, dreamscape lifestyle. From euphoric moments at Disneyland to roadside kitsch to iconic landmarks to boozy poolside barbecues. An epic photographic tour de force that is the closest we will ever come to time travel.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the photographs and the research of each one. I especially love the palm trees in many photos. My only disappointment is that the book is about Americana but is printed in China, with stinky toxic ink.

[Suzka · Rating 4 out of 5]

When we were moving from Los Angeles, I went out to find a book of local photography to take with us. (It's a thing I do whenever I've moved.) Instead, however, I came across this collection. The photos, after all, are set in Southern California...and they're a whole lot more interesting than one more shot of the Hollywood sign or the big ballerina clown on that corner in Venice.

I've since come to adore the collections of Charles Phoenix. I love the whole Kodachrome scene, I love mid-century artifacts, and as soon as I get my time machine, I'm gonna stop on in! (All of this is hysterical, considering that we live in an 1840 farmhouse and have more feed stores close to our house than anything midcentury...or, for that matter, even stop signs.)

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love nostalgia and old photos of familiar places. Charles Phoenix is a local guy who loves the same things and has made a great living out of collecting and presenting them in an engaging and fun way. John and I tried to go see one of his live presentations at the Pomona library a couple of years ago, but the venue was so crowded (and we weren't real early) we got turned away for lack of space. Alas, I'll just keep enjoying his books.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going through these old photos (mostly slides rescued from discarded collections) is like going through a time machine. The fact that they're from everyday life (and not the artificial portrayal you might find in period advertisments, catalogs, postcards etc..) make them all the more interesting. And if you're old enough, you notice a detail or two and think "Oh yeah! I remember those!"