LA Obscura: The Architectural Photography of Julius Shulman has been the perfect vehicle for the creation of a website representative of the collaborative impulse that is increasingly characteristic of the University of Southern California. Born of an exhibition held at the Fisher Gallery (USC's art museum) and curated by graduate students in Museum Studies (the Master's degree Art History program in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences), this website was spearheaded and guided by Howard Smith of the Architecture and Fine Arts Library. Howard's enthusiasm and expertise have been a constant inspiration, not only to our students, but also to our faculty as we have all become more and more involved with advanced technologies. Fisher Gallery, traditionally the laboratory for our Museum Studies Students, has now significantly expanded its reach because of his vision.
Robert Timme, Dean of the School of Architecture and I have enjoyed working with the great photographer, Julius Shulman. Documenting and preserving his stunningly important photographs have been the raison d'etre of this project. Engaging Julius in the educational process, teaching our students about the making of an exhibition and finding the significance of end of the century archiving, have enriched us all. Neither exhibition nor website could have been possible without the supervision of Robert Sobieszek, Curator of Photography of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. A regular member of Art History's visiting faculty, Sosbieszek has led Museum Studies students to a re-interpretation of Julius Shulman's work. Sobieszek's seminar and his continued involvement have been invaluable to this elaborate collaboration.
We, therefore, invite you to use this website to enhance your own experience and your more complete understanding of Julius Shulman's contribution to our collective memory of the constant evolving Los Angeles cityscape. I also want to salute the members of the webteam and their efforts in making this website a reality: Sibylle Hagmann (Architecture), Dan Lee (Architecture), Karen Weldon (Museum Studies), Russ Cook (AFA Slide Collection), Paul Tzanetopoulos (AFA Slide Collection), Hector Ayala (AFA Library) and Barrie Wise (AFA Library).
- Selma Holo, Director Fisher Gallery and Museum Studies Program