Monday, Monday

I thought this weekend would be a total washout, but I decided at the last minute to go the the Getty on Sunday to see the Julius Shulman photo exhibition. A third of the way in, in a non-descript, 9 by 12 metal frame, was the photograph. It's the 1960 nighttime view of the house, taken from the pool area looking into the glass wall of the living room, with the lights of the Los Angeles basin below off to the horizon.

The image has been used no less than twice for the covers of books on Shulman, and probalably illustrates not only the Case Study Houses, but the entire era of Mid-Century Modern in one elegant, sophisticated, simple scene.

I saved the image on my phone (I hope--my battery is dying, dying, dead) --not from the actual photo, encased in glass, but from the poster of the photo in the lobby of the Getty Research Library. No glare from the glass, and no guard there to tell me no picture-taking.

I've already seen one painting that paid homage to the shot in an exhibition on interpretations of Los Angeles by different artists at the Craft & Folk Art Museum. It it probably the most famous nightime shot of the LA cityscape ever shot. Hell, It's probably the single most evocative photo of Los Angeles--if everso over idealized-- ever taken. I wasn't the only one who came to the gallery and had a personal connection with the image.

Then it was home to watch DH and Grey's Anatomy. I entertained myself by making a game of creating business card-sized seat savers for meetings with colorful, outrageous, humourous images. I've often remarked that the meetings in WeHo ought to have a competition for the most original business card graphics ...there is an unspoken status contest played out with the business cards that sometimes begs for a sociological study in its' own right. Well, I'll have the most startling images, hands down.