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Shooting Space 3: Decay

The Work of Alex Hartley

  • Case Study House #21 (Bailey House)‚ 2003. (All images: © Alex Hartley‚ Courtesy the Artist and Victoria Miro‚ London) 1 / 7  Case Study House #21 (Bailey House)‚ 2003. (All images: © Alex Hartley‚ Courtesy the Artist and Victoria Miro‚ London)
  • Kubly House‚ 2003. 2 / 7  Kubly House‚ 2003.
  • Kaufman House‚ 2003. 3 / 7  Kaufman House‚ 2003.
  • Eames House (Case study 8)‚ 2003. 4 / 7  Eames House (Case study 8)‚ 2003.
  • Schindler-Chase House‚ 2003. 5 / 7  Schindler-Chase House‚ 2003.
  • Deep Pain Thrombosis. V6‚ 16ft. Fitzpatrick House‚ 2003. 6 / 7  Deep Pain Thrombosis. V6‚ 16ft. Fitzpatrick House‚ 2003.
  • Stahl House‚ Case Study #22‚ 2003. 7 / 7  Stahl House‚ Case Study #22‚ 2003.

In this installment of our four-part series, we offer another intriguing preview of Elias Redstone’s new book Shooting Space: Architecture in Contemporary Photography. Published by Phaidon, the book explores the work of fifty leading photographers who capture the built environment in startling, moving, and downright gorgeous images. And don’t forget that uncube has four copies of the book to give away; see below for all the details.


WEEK 3: Decay
The work of Alex Hartley

“In 2002, I was living in LA. I would set off to look at new buildings using the David Gebhard architectural guidebook. On arrival at each location it became apparent that high gates, fences or cactus planting had been put in place since the guide had been published. I started jumping over or crawling through these barriers in order to see and photograph the houses. This transgression led eventually to a physical exploration of the buildings themselves, experiencing the structures solely as material and texture – making lines and routes across the city.”
- Alex Hartley

Alex Hartley investigates modern architecture and the ways in which it is conceived and presented. The artist challenges preconceptions by subverting the traditional style of encounter with buildings. This method is perhaps best represented by his photographs of modernist houses in southern California. In stark contrast to Julius Shulman’s widely-published works, which immortalised many of the most important residential buildings in the region, Hartley’s images look at the same seminal designs altogether more illicitly. It is unclear whether he is an explorer, discovering buildings that have become lost in time, or a voyeuristic intruder lurking in the undergrowth. In one image, the Eames House appears to be abandoned in a forest under a layer of debris. In another, the Schindler-Chase House is viewed from the stained and patched roof. Hartley also interacts with the buildings in an atypical way, climbing over them and hanging off beams, as if learning how these structures were intended to be used by humans. 

The Shooting Space competition draw has now closed.

Shooting Space: Architecture in Contemporary Photography
by Elias Redstone
Phaidon‚ September 2014.
€65.00‚ ISBN: 9780714867427
www.phaidon.com

 

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