The image that I chose to manipulate for my DIY #1 assignment was “Case Study House no. 22, Los Angeles” by photographer Julius Shulman. Taken in 1960, the photograph is of the famous Stahl House in the Hollywood Hills. Created by Pierre Koenig, the home is a textbook example of modernist, industrial architecture of the day. To help make this new style of home-building more appealing to Los Angeles residents, Shulman was brought in to shoot a photography series as part of a real estate marketing scheme. In this photo, two women are seated in an all-glass living room high above the city. Such picture-perfect staging was intended to sell California — specifically Hollywood — as a so-called “Promised Land” for people to flock to during the 1960s.
In my manipulated image, I’ve carefully removed the background and replaced it with an image of a 2015 forest fire in Washington state. I selected this image because it shares similar left-leading lines with the Stahl House photo.
In making this change, my new image is meant to serve as a commentary on natural disasters (many of which are caused by climate change) and people’s long-term response to them. People affected by forest and brush fires (especially those residing in Southern California) are very aware of the threat that these fires pose. But after the initial outbreak of the blaze, within a few weeks or sometimes even a few days, many just return to their normal routine. I wanted to play on this idea of normalcy and blissful ignorance in relation to natural disasters by using an image from the 1960s — a time when keeping up appearances and cultural uniformity were highly valued in postwar America. So, while a forest fire blazes just outside this multimillion-dollar home, its residents appear unbothered by the destruction and carry on with their chat.
Catherine Considers 