On
May 9, 1960, on a warm, still Los Angeles evening, architectural
photographer Julius Shulman was photographing the 22nd of a series of
Case Study houses for Arts & Architecture Magazine. It was his
2980th job in his photographic career and he set about getting it
done just like any other. Stahl House or Case Study House #22,
designed by architect Pierre Koenig and belonging to Buck and
Carlotta Stahl, was very near completion - it's yard lay unlandscaped
and a delivery of furniture was delayed when the truck driver decided
to visit his mother upstate. However, on this Monday evening an
image had to be captured and it needed to go to press.
The
architect persuaded the delivery man to drive through the night to
deliver the house's modernist furniture. He brought his own deck
chairs up to the house, along with some architectural pottery.
Shulman busied himself finding ways "to
breathe some air into the house".
He requested that Koenig "Tell
(his) students to bring their girlfriends", "...to get a
feeling of natural activity, as well as using them for scale".
A young architecture student, Jim Jennings called upon his fiancé
and her friend to come to site and pose for Shulman. They were told
to wear dresses.
Lights
for an interior shot were being set up by Shulman's assistant, when
he happened to step outside and notice the view of Los Angeles city
beyond the house. In an instant, it was decided that the composition
had to change. Equipment was moved out to the yard, the house's
lights were switched off and replaced with flashbulbs. Outside,
Shulman set up a seven minute exposure to capture the grid of the
city's night lights. During this time, the girls sat in the dark.
Shulman was to inform them when a flash would go off. They were to
continue talking to each other while sitting as still as possible.
The result, still after 50 years have passed, is one of the most
reproduced architectural photographs in the world.
This
year, a capsule of COS'
SS14 collection was brought to Case Study House #22. An editorial
styled by Hannes
Hetta
and photographed by Max
Farago
was created to mark the selling of these pieces in American retail
store Opening
Ceremony.
Shulman was
the first architectural photographer to include people like props
inside the buildings he photographed. His images showcased a
lifestyle, one which was often the envy of its viewers. This
editorial by COS does the same. Here these models pose nonchalant
against a Los Angeles cliffside and in a glass-walled room which
cantilevers over its edge. They are comfortable in themselves, in
their choice of lifestyle and in the garments they choose to wear.
These
images beautifully immortalise Shulman's legacy and have us
longing to hop on the next flight to LA.
All
items available to purchase here cosstores.com
