Backyard Oasis: The Swimming Pool in Southern California Photography, 1945-1982.

Cornell, Daniell (Ed.):

ISBN 10: 3791351761 / ISBN 13: 9783791351766

Published by München, Prestel,, 2012

About this Item

256 S. mit Fotoabbildungen Southern California`s pool culture is the subject of this unique and luscious collection of photographs that explore the parallel evolution of an iconic symbol and an artistic genre. Since the end of World War II, Southern California`s backyard pools-those blue-green oases in an otherwise often arid landscape-have symbolized any number of American ideals: optimism, wealth, consumerism, escape, physical beauty, and the triumph of man over nature. Simultaneously, the field of photography developed as a transformative method for recording the human condition. This exhibition catalog celebrates the nexus of these two phenomena in a one-of-a-kind collection that features more than two hundred works by more than forty postwar artists and photographers. It presents works by photographers and artists including Bill Anderson, John Baldessari, Ruth Bernhard, David Hockney, Herb Ritts, Ed Ruscha, Julius Shulman, and Larry Sultan. Gutes Exemplar. Sprache: Englisch Gewicht in Gramm: 4200 4°. Orig.-Leinen mit Orig.-Umschlag (Umschlag etwas angerändert).

Seller Inventory # 28455

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Backyard Oasis: The Swimming Pool in Southern California Photography, 1945-1982.
• Publisher: München, Prestel,
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3791351761
• ISBN 13: 9783791351766
• Binding: Hardcover
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Weight: 4200 grams
• Seller catalogs:
  • Fotografie

About this title

Synopsis

Southern California's pool culture is the subject of this unique and luscious collection of photographs that explore the parallel evolution of an iconic symbol and an artistic genre. Since the end of World War II, Southern California's backyard pools-those blue-green oases in an otherwise often arid landscape-have symbolized any number of American ideals: optimism, wealth, consumerism, escape, physical beauty, and the triumph of man over nature. Simultaneously, the field of photography developed as a transformative method for recording the human condition. This exhibition catalog celebrates the nexus of these two phenomena in a one-of-a-kind collection that features more than two hundred works by more than forty postwar artists and photographers. It presents works by photographers and artists including Bill Anderson, John Baldessari, Ruth Bernhard, David Hockney, Herb Ritts, Ed Ruscha, Julius Shulman, and Larry Sultan. Thematically grouped into topics ranging from the rise of celebrity culture, suburbia and dystopia, avant-garde architectural landscape design, and the cult of the body, these images offer a reich study of the cultural connotations of the swimming pool. six insightful essays provide a comprehensive overview of the development of the swimming pool and its attendant aesthetic and social culture.

About the Author

Daniell Cornell is senior curator and deputy director of art at the Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, California.