Building visions

Young Chang

Just look at his redwood tree, Julius Shulman insists.

The splashes of light from a shyly rising sun make it flush a warm

deep red. Every morning since it was planted in 1964, the tree and the

sunlight have entwined. And every morning, Shulman has relaxed on the bed

in his Los Angeles home and loved it.

“You have never seen such a beautiful sight in your life,” said the

architectural photographer, who will present a slide lecture at the

Newport Beach Central Library on Oct. 11. “ “It’s my haven. My church is

nature.”

Shulman, who turns 91 on Oct. 10, claims that the camera is the least

important character in a photographer’s life. The appreciation of sights

-- taking in the world and its trees and the sun -- is essential.

“I shock many people,” the award-winning shutterbugsaid. “Young

photographers especially. Whenever I have seminars to go on field trips

in nature or architecture, the first thing they do is take out their

cameras.”

But Shulman promptly instructs his students to put those things away.

You observe with your eyes and mind, said the man whose talk will be

titled “How to Create an Icon,” not with the camera lens.

Because metaphorically the problem is so many artists have painted,

drawn and published Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven. Shulman wonders

how many ascensions one can adore.

“At the same time, you’re bypassing the real ascension of humanity,”

he said. “People don’t talk about accelerating human qualities of being a

great person, and you raise your own image by becoming more observant of

the world about us.”

Shulman, whose selected works are on display at the library through

the end of the month, said he will ask his Newport Beach audience next

week to “look around the world when you travel and even in your own

hometown.”

His slide lecture, presented by the Newport Beach Public Library and

The Museum of Architecture in Orange County, will discuss his

architectural icon picks of the 20th century, which include landmarks in

Orange County. Shulman said he will use his lecture to encourage a

healthy, physical environment.

“To stress the responsibility people have to preserve the cherished

and very delicate environment in Orange County,” he said. “We can’t allow

indiscriminate development of land. Once the land is used, it’s gone

forever.”

LaDonna Kienitz, the city librarian and community services director,

said Shulman’s photography helps people reconnect with a “confidence in

the future.”

“Julius Shulman is renowned for capturing the optimism of postwar

Southern California,” she said.

In 1969, the American Institute of Architecture awarded Shulman the

Gold Medal for Architectural Photography. In 1980, he was awarded an

honorary membership.

But while celebrated for documenting buildings designed by Frank Lloyd

Wright, Pierre Koenig, Richard Neutra and other noted artists and

architects, the photographer has also been lauded for his portrayal of

the suburban California life. Patrick Bartolic, the Board of Library

Trustees chair, credits Shulman with capturing the “California dream.”

“As a child, I was not exposed to anything but nature,” Shulman said.

“Many people who know me describe my feeling about my life and work and

adherence to nature.”

The Brooklyn native grew up on a farm in eastern Connecticut, where

his parents milked cows, raised vegetables and took care of chicken while

the young Shulman meandered through trees and hung out at ponds.

“And I’ve never changed. See my jungle, see my forest, see the way I

live,” he said of his home today.

That redwood tree visible from his bedroom window is neighbored by a

grove of more redwood trees and a stream. He lives alone because his wife

died a year and a half ago, and his daughter has taken over the

correspondence part of his business, leaving Shulman to work on his

upcoming three books.

“But I’m never alone,” he said. “If I’m not with nature, I’m with my

friends. I live a great life. Slated, quiet, peaceful.”

The nature enthusiast added that in next week’s lecture, he might even

share something new: his photos of people, fashion, the environment -- in

other words, more than just architecture.

“There are so many beautiful things to observe that we fail to detect

because we’re so busy doing something else,” Shulman said.

FYI

WHAT: Julius Shulman lectures on “How to Create an Icon”

WHEN: 7 p.m. Oct. 11

WHERE: Newport Beach Central Library, 1000 Avocado Ave., Newport Beach

COST: Free

CALL: (949) 717-3801