Wayne Thom: Photographing the Late Modern

by Emily Bills

The first monograph of photographer Wayne Thom, whose documentation of Late Modern architecture constitutes an architectural/visual archive unlike any other. A key primer to late-twentieth century Modernism, this monograph devoted to Wayne Thom chronicles his photographic practice and the architectural and urban environment in which he worked. An innovative chronicler of the booming West Coast urbanism of the 1960s and 70s, Thom’s photographs of key projects by path-breaking architecture firms such as William Pereira & Associates, Edward Durell Stone, SOM, Gio Ponti, John Portman, I. M. Pei, and A. Quincy Jones helped establish the idea of cool architectural glamour of the era. Raised in Hong Kong, Thom moved to California in the mid-1960s and trained in the technical craftsmanship of photography, adept at harnessing natural light for both interior and exterior compositions. He soon began working with the figures who would become his clients and benefactors, most importantly William Pereira and A. Quincy Jones, a prolific architect and Dean of the School of Architecture at USC. As Emily Bills critically assess Thom’s career, she demonstrates that his photography became inseparable from Late Modernism in the popular imagination, a period of architectural production that ran from the late 1960s through the 1980s. Wayne Photographing the Late Modern is a celebration of this key architectural photographer and a unique chronicle of the works of this transformative period of architectural expression.

248 pages, Hardcover

Published December 15, 2020

Reviews

[Travis Duke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book featuring Wayne Thom's architecture photography from the 70-80s. Little known fact I used to be a professional photographer and I have always been drawn to street photography with the inclusion of architecture. This is exactly what Wayne Thom worked on at times, street shots in the business world (I am sure there is a art term for this).

His focus on the shapes and spaces these building take is well done, The compositions are also tight and well focused. The inky black from film is just something I will never get past (sorry digital) And Wayne processed this wonderfully full of contrast and rich tones. The color photography is also well done but I focused more on the B/W.

Overall I nicely built book that is well crafted.

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Photos of architecture in LA. What more could I ask for.