Julius Shulman’s Los Angeles Love Story

From neon-lit “La-La Land” to dark, gritty L.A. Confidential and L.A. Noire, the city of angels—Los Angeles—has occupied a place in the public’s imagination in many forms. In Julius Shulman Los Angeles: The Birth of a Modern Metropolis by Sam Lubell and Douglas Woods, we see through the eyes of a true lover of the city. “My father Julius Shulman grew up with Los Angeles,” Judy McKee, Shulman’s daughter, suggests in her tender foreword. In a stunning array of black and white as well as color photographs, Julius Shulman Los Angeles tells a love story between a talented photographer and his home city, the “girl next door” that became the love of his life and to whom he devoted his talents. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Julius Shulman’s Los Angeles Love Story."

[Image: © Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, Julius Shulman Los Angeles: The Birth of a Modern Metropolis by Sam Lubell and Douglas Woods, Rizzoli New York, 2011. Richard Neutra’s Kuhn House, 1936; Shulman’s first photograph of modern architecture.]

[Many thanks to Rizzoli for providing me with the image above from and a review copy of Julius Shulman Los Angeles: The Birth of a Modern Metropolis by Sam Lubell and Douglas Woods.]

Book of Revelation: A New Definitive History of Christian Art in “Ars Sacra”

When Moses came down from the mountain, he carried along stone tablets bearing The Ten Commandments—the definitive law of God. An equally definitive word has been passed down in the form of Ars Sacra: Christian Art and Architecture of the Western World from the Very Beginning Up Until Today, which should instantly assume the role of the definitive guide in words and pictures of Christian art. With 800 oversized pages of high quality photography and insightful text adding up to a mammoth weight of 23 pounds, Ars Sacra wins the heavyweight title of the world of religious art books. All the familiar masterpieces appear with fresh perspectives along with new wonders to behold, making Ars Sacra truly a Book of Revelation for both believers and art-loving nonbelievers. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Book of Revelation."

[Image: Bernardo Vittone. St. Chiara at Bra, Italy. 1742. Interior view of dome.]

[Many thanks to H.F. Ullmann for providing me with the image above from and a review copy of Ars Sacra: Christian Art and Architecture of the Western World from the Very Beginning Up Until Today.]

Church Going: How to Read Churches

“Once I am sure there's nothing going on/ I step inside, letting the door thud shut,” begins Philip Larkin’s poem “Church Going.” “Another church: matting, seats, and stone,/ And little books; sprawlings of flowers, cut/ For Sunday, brownish now; some brass and stuff/ Up at the holy end.” For many of us, walking into a church we dumbly look at the “holy end” and wish we knew to call it the sanctuary, with all the connotations that word holds. Denis R. McNamara’s How to Read Churches: A Crash Course in Ecclesiastical Architecture gives us those words as well as their deeper meanings. With Lent and Easter just around the corner for Christians, McNamara’s book provides the perfect entry, or re-entry, for those going to church hoping to find the significance of the glass and stone earlier generations understood and found comfort in. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Church Going."

[Image: Interior of Thomas Aquinas College Chapel in Santa Paula, California, designed by architect Duncan Stroik. Image source here.]

[Many thanks to Rizzoli for providing me with a review copy of How to Read Churches: A Crash Course in Ecclesiastical Architecture by Denis R. McNamara.]