[.ca] The New Industrial Parks Near Irvine, California (ISBN 0963078569)

Anonymous in Irvine.:
The fifty-one black and white photos in this nicely designed book will not be to everybody's taste. The photos could not be more stark and minimalist, mostly eye level, straight on, images of almost plain walls of commercial premises in Irvine, Los Angeles. The only concession is (photo twenty-two) a close-up of an open two-switch electrical box, I bet Baltz only took this because the box cover was off and the inside looked interesting. Looking through the photos at the shapes and rigid right angles of the walls, doors, guttering and windows suggest abstract paintings and I can well understand that the appearance of the book encouraged the significant 1975 photo exhibition, 'New Topographics'. Some of the ten photographers (including Baltz) in that show have gone on to exhibit and publish books about the man-altered landscape. I think this particular photographic genre is now well established, thanks to Baltz. The book is as minimalist as the photos, apart from the simple captions there is no essay about Baltz (at least not in my German produced copy which does not have a photo on the cover) no page numbers, nothing on the inside flaps or back of the cover. I would have preferred this 2001 edition to have some reference to the influence these photos had over the last twenty-five years. An equally minimalist designed book I have enjoyed is 'Meadowland' by Ray Mortenson (ISBN 0912810408) here the photos are of an industrial area in New Jersey. The photos are not as rigid as those by Baltz and frequently show how the natural landscape has been changed by heavy industry. Both books present a vibrant photographic style and I like them because they show how visually fascinating the man-made environment can be.