Joe Deal: Southern California Photographs, 1976-86

by Joe Deal, Edward Leffingwell

Joe Deal is the photographer who perhaps best exemplifies the important approach to photographing the man-altered landscape that became known as the "New Topographics" when an exhibit toured and a book of that name was published in 1975. Deal's style is cool and dispassionate, his impeccable prints at first glance understated. But his keen observation and sense of the ironies of the population and building explosion in the Los Angeles Basin make his photographs resonate with the tensions of the human relationship to the landscape that are nowhere more evident than in southern California.
Ultimately, Joe Deal's photographs are more than a survey of the urban landscape and vernacular architecture in earthquake country. From the manicured lawns in what were once desert arroyos to cities built on the beach, the sociological implications are profound and never far from view to the careful observer of these photographs. The essays provide thoughtful commentary on the far-reaching questions Joe Deal raises. Presenting these numerous series of photographs together for the first time, this book is a major contribution to late twentieth-century photography.

Genres: Art, Photography

147 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1992

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't spend a lot of time looking at Joe Deal photographs back when they were new, even though I was a big fan of others in the "New Topographics" group. Discovering this one now (largely because of the J.B. Jackson essay that accompanies this) was nice. J.B. Jackson's essay really nails the "specialness" of this sort of landscape photography, that it presents without comment aspects of human culture that are important to hang on to and reflect upon. I wish I could say that the other essays were as worthwhile.

The Mark Johnstone essay is a bit bloated regarding the "theatricality" of the Southern California landscape; it's useful in contextualizing the work but little more. The worst, though, is the essay by Warhol crew alum Edward Leffingwell. He encourages the viewer to look at these photographs to divine stories, perhaps the opposite piece of advise that I'd give anyone when viewing this sort of work. It doesn't exist for your wishful thinking; it exists to give you a real cultural moment of significance that doesn't really care about your opinions, or fantasies. J.B. Jackson gets that, the others don't. Good thing it's the lead piece.

As far as the photographs, well, they're dead on. This is a specific moment in Southern California that rings true; I was there, and I was working photographing it during this time as well. Joe Deal is real.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Adams & Lewis Baltz may get more mentions, but Joe Deal's book is just as important. The elevated camera position of many of the images kinda blows my mind. 2 of the 3 essays in the book are quite good. If you have an interest in the New Topographics, this book is highly recommended and defintely worth seeking out.