Both Sides of Sunset: Photographing Los Angeles

by Jane Brown (Editor), Marla Kennedy (Editor)

Los Angeles is a city of dualities--sunshine and noir, coastline beaches and urban grit, natural beauty and suburban sprawl, the obvious and the hidden. "Both Sides of Sunset: Photographing Los Angeles" reveals these dualities and more, in images captured by master photographers such as Bruce Davidson, Lee Friedlander, Daido Moriyama, Julius Shulman and Garry Winogrand, as well as many younger artists, among them Matthew Brandt, Katy Grannan, Alex Israel, Lise Sarfati and Ed Templeton, just to name a few. Taken together, these individual views by more than 130 artists form a collective vision of a place where myth and reality are often indistinguishable. Spinning off the highly acclaimed "Looking at Los Angeles" (Metropolis Books, 2005), "Both Sides of Sunset" presents an updated and equally unromantic vision of this beloved and scorned metropolis. In the years since the first book was published, the artistic landscape of Los Angeles has flourished and evolved. The extraordinary Getty Museum project "Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980" focused global attention on the city's artistic heritage, and this interest has only continued to grow. "Both Sides of Sunset" showcases many of the artists featured in the original book--such as Lewis Baltz, Catherine Opie, Stephen Shore and James Welling--but also incorporates new images that portray a city that is at once unhinged and driven by irrepressible exuberance. Proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit Inner-City Arts--an oasis of learning, achievement and creativity in the heart of Los Angeles' Skid Row that brings arts education to elementary, middle and high school students.

Genres: Photography

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Humble: johnhumble.com/
Mike Slack: mike-slack.com/
Peter Holzhauer: peterholzhauer.com/
Nicolas Silberfaden: nicolassilberfaden.com/
Camilo José Vergara: https://www.camilojosevergara.com/
Julius Shulman: http://www.artnet.com/artists/julius-...
Grant Mudford: http://www.grantmudford.com/
Alex Israel: https://gagosian.com/artists/alex-isr...
Hugh Holland: https://www.mbphoto.com/artists/16-hu...

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of photography about my favorite city is amazing, filled with stunning images that demonstrate the diversity of Los Angeles. It shows that Los Angeles is not a city easily categorized--sunshine and noir, beaches and urban spaces, canyons and mountains and suburban sprawl, Hollywood glitz and immigrant enclaves. It's an incredible city and these photographs by famous old time photographers like Julius Shulman and younger artists showcase the diversity of Los Angeles..

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

One wonders why some of these photos were even taken, much less published in a coffee-table-sized book.