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South Wall, Mazda Motors, 2121 East Main Street, Irvine - Image 1
South Wall, Mazda Motors, 2121 East Main Street, Irvine - Image 2

Lewis Baltz and Castelli Graphics

South Wall, Mazda Motors, 2121 East Main Street, Irvine

1974

South Wall, Mazda Motors, 2121 East Main Street, Irvine — thumbnail 1
South Wall, Mazda Motors, 2121 East Main Street, Irvine — thumbnail 2
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South Wall, Mazda Motors, 2121 East Main Street, Irvine

1974

Physical Qualities Gelatin silver print, Sheet: 204 × 253 mm. (8 1/16 × 9 15/16 in.) Image: 153 × 229 mm. (6 × 9 in.)
Portfolio/Series from the portfolio, "The new Industrial Parks near Irvine, California"
Credit Line Anonymous Gift
Object Number 1981.26.35
Lewis Baltz calls attention to the aesthetic and sociological impact of industrial development through his stark depictions of office buildings, garages, and parking lots in suburban California. In early 1975, the artist, along with Bernd and Hilla Becher, Nicholas Nixon, and several others, was part of “The New Topographics” exhibition, a show instrumental in defining a photographic approach that was detached yet implicitly questioning of humanity’s alteration of the natural landscape in the name of commerce. Devoid of human presence, Baltz’s images suggest a regimentation and sterility in industrial design that runs counter to the way that many would visualize social progress.
Kristen Hileman, BMA. "Seeing now: Photography Since 1960," February 20-May 15, 2011.

Inscribed: across bottom verso in graphite: "I.P. #40 8/21 Lewis Baltz, 1974"

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