Photographer Julius Shulman (1910-2009) brought his unique vision to architectural photography and helped to place Mid-Century Modern in the public consciousness. His images created a kind of aesthetic mythology around designers like Richard Neutra, John Lautner, Raphael Soriano, Pierre Koenig, Phillip Johnson, and Charles Eames. Shulman was a master of light and composition. "There were architects working in the fifties and sixties, as
evidenced by the offshoots of the direction taken during the case study house
program of Arts and Architecture Magazine, men such as Smith and Williams--who,
at that time, were actually among my favorites, because they were moving away,
evolving into a more relaxed expanse of architectural spirit to their houses" (Archives of American Art interview). His most famous image of the Stahl House below (Case Study House #22/1960) illustrated an ability to show the new aesthetic as livable space. To my eyes, the smart minimalist scenes he crafted echoed a change in post-war values toward the intellectual, personal utopia celebrated in the culture of individualism, Hi-Fi, lounge, technology, and the bachelor-pad ideal celebrated in early Playboy.
Shulman's career was the subject of an excellent 2008 documentary called Visual Acoustics narrated by Dustin Hoffman. Trailer below. Stahl House info and tours here. Shulman on NPR here. Spy Vibe Posts: Modern Architecture LP, Mid-Century Modern at Schulz, Dieter Rams Braun Design, Tati's Playtime, Bosko interview, Phillip Johnson Glass House, Set For Adventure. Other links of interest: Mies van der Rohe Society,Phillip Johnson Glass House, Eliot Noyes, Eero Saarinen, and the school my family started, the New York School of Interior Design.
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP,
The Prisoner & Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato & Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, Peter Asher, Gerry Marsden tour, Elio Petri on Blu-ray, Sophia Loren, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.
It's Space Camp week on Spy Vibe! As I busy myself with end-of-term grading and holiday plans, I thought it would be fun to look at quick and campy snapshots of some of the classic space-age moments in 1960s entertainment. Today we feature the original network sales presentation for Irwin Allen's Lost in Space (1965-1968). The series had a lot to offer, including sets filled with computer banks, a soundtrack by John Williams, robots and ray guns, and even a ship that strongly resembled the Chemosphere house (1960) by architect, John Lautner (photo below by Julius Shulman). The series started on a more serious tone than fans might remember. Even Dr. Smith began as a vicious saboteur who spent the first season trying to bump off the Robinson family and head back to Earth. This was a program that embraced the space age to the point of seeing the stars as the next logical step in human expansion. Keeping with the times, the show's silver space suits were fashioned in the style of the early Mercury and Gemini designs from NASA. There was the expected camp of space travel in Lost in Space, but the real fun was when monsters began popping up to cause trouble for our heroes. I seem to recall it began with a giant cyclops, and the early season closed with an actual zoo of space monsters on the loose in an episode starring Michael Rennie (Day the Earth Stood Still). As Lost in Space went color and more outrageous to compete with Batman, the show took camp to new heights- culminating in the Great Vegetable Rebellion. Check it out if you dare! Evolution of the space suit here.
