“With its glamorous orchestration of color, texture,
and mood, Shulman’s image conveys the impression of a high fashion shot or film
still in which the severity and restraint of the architecture create a backdrop
for a drama involving an upwardly mobile young couple who are attractive,
sophisticated, and tasteful yet approachable exemplars of the modern
lifestyle—an images that perfectly slides avant-garde and the popular
imaginations view of what might constitute 'domestic cool'.”
-Elizabeth A.T. Smith
Julius Shulman’s photographs of mid-century
modernist homes created a narrative to an architectural subject by adding
people to the photographs. An entire lifestyle was portrayed in his photos by
placing people inside the homes. He gives us an almost voyeuristic view of the
private lives of a married couple at the heart of domesticity inside a glass
house and the home’s ambiguity between indoor and outdoor life. The Case Study
houses' interweaving of indoor and outdoor space and their breezy informality depicted
a uniquely Californian way of living and domestic architecture. The interior
and exterior spaces are an extension of each other, with ceilings and walls
that do not enclose the space but rather open it up to the elements. The
gorgeous photographs contrast the opaque and transparent, and play with the
space’s depth and flatness to reflect the strong clear light
that seems to sharpen and idealize forms and create precise shadows.
(Photographs by Julius Shulman)
