Analysis of The Stahl House Photo Essay Sample
In the 1950’s, architecture and design was drawing the attention of anyone who could afford the time to dream of owning a unique building design. Architects spent many hours focusing on the quality and uniqueness of their designs to please the public. Individuals within the upper class of society would pay high amounts of money for properties and buildings that stood out. As many exciting new ways to build came into the country, the architects blossomed in their business and spread their work to other countries. Eventually, the United States had a very large influence on the architecture of the world (1950’s Architecture, 2001).
In the 1950's- 60’s, the popularity of unique designs increased to the point that homes with something “different” about them became a part of something called the “Case Study House Program”, (Smith 2002). The program consisted of 36 houses, each with their own unique profile. Not one was like the others, the only thing that they had in common, was that they were by no means ordinary. 1960 was the year that Case Study House Number 22 entered the program. The picture taken by Julius Shulman, of house number 22, became the photo that was most relevant to the public as an image of unique architecture and design. It grew to be a photo that was regularly referenced when touching on the subject of 60’s architecture and buildings. The photographer Julius Shulman was a man who was on a mission. He devoted much of his time to photography. Leading up to this photograph being taken, Shulman worked on many other projects for the Case Study Program. In fact, “Of the 26 homes, Shulman photographed 18” (Gale, 2010). The point is Shulman was no amateur photographer. In his youth he found his passion for photography and kept pushing himself to do what he loved. He obtained a desire to capture the beauty of unique architecture, and photographed many modern works of architecture. Eventually, Shulman and his photos were noticed by a famous architect named Richard Neutra (Gale, 2010). Neutra took Shulman under his wing and brought him to different locations to photograph other projects as well as teach him, “the nuances of photographing architecture”.
1960 was the year that Neutra’s influence caused the house from case study number 22 was taken. Shulman was called to photograph the 22nd house belonging to the Stahl family, hence the photograph’s nickname, “The Stahl House” (Publishers Weekly, 2021). As he arrived he noticed the lighting and background of the scene. Light was Shulman’s specialty and he did something unique with this picture. Shulman used two different exposure times for this photograph (Gale, 2010). The first was a seven and a half minute shutter of the lights below the house, which increased the diversity and number of lights that are seen. The second shutter was a flash of the inside of the house, showing the two girls in their cocktail dresses surrounded by beautiful furniture that, like the house, was very distinctive. Shulman took this picture on a warm May evening of 1960, and it is still reflected today (Luntz, 2014).
When the general population reflects on this image, the first thing that the eye is drawn to is the glistening glass corner that seemingly floats above the city lights. The 1960’s architectural designs focused on the bending of light to create open spaces (Lo, 2018), hence the open windows that let the people, insid, and out, feel the illusion that they were in the open sky. The roof of the Stahl house is also unique in the fact that it is so uniform in the way that its fragments of metal have been pieced together leaning in the same direction.
As the viewer stares at the image for a longer period of time, smaller more significant pieces of the image also begin to show themselves. For example, the city lights that Shulman was so careful to include. These represent the bustling city of LA, and may have shown the dreamers that the California dream is attainable. The california dream was the desire to have all of the extra amenities that one could have within a home. The unique build of the home, a great view, privacy, and much more (Los Angeles Times, 1991). The Stahl house had all of the things previously mentioned and depicted them well. This may have been why the image was idolized as THE Californian dream home.
Initially the attention was directed towards the home itself. Everyone wanted that exact version of the famous photo’s estate. Today people wish to buy the home as well, although it still belongs to the Stahl family. The highest offer as of 2009 was $15 million dollars (Los Angeles Times, 2009). The house was built by Buck Stahl and only cost a total $34,000 to build. Contractors (construction overseer) over the years have attempted to recreate the overhanging rooftops. It has become a popular and expensive trend of condos built around the coastline of california. Just to copy the idea of the Stahl home can cost thousands. Because of this, the economy grows with the housing market as pricey home add ons trend.
As time continues to go on, people have slowly but surely realized that the impact of this photo is not the actual home or price, it is the distinctive qualities about it as well as the desires it can cause. After 1960, according to the 1961 Budget Analysis of Los Angeles Public Works, the amount of private as well as general public architecture and home sales dramatically increased. People saw the sleek home in the case study #22 pictures and wanted one of their own. It is, after all, human nature to desire something we do not have.
Newspaper articles, magazines, and many other publications have been put forth since 1961 about this Stahl home. There is still information that can be obtained from things written within the past year about this home. It has become clear that the Stahl House will effect news articles and home designs well into the future. When individuals see this picture, it is not an unfamiliar one. Some still try to recreate the same ‘aesthetic’ which according to The Merriam Webster Dictionary means, “of, relating to, or dealing with the beautiful”. The inside appearance of many modern homes can be traced back to this image. The influences that drove the owner to buy the house, and decorate it to look a certain way, where because of the influence of case study house no. 22.
As time moves forward we will continue to be influenced by this photo. Not just by the way that it looks or the inspiration behind it. We will continue to be influenced by the decisions that it has, and will continue to, cause within architecture and society today. The Case Study House Number 22 always has been, and always will be, design, decoration, and inspiration in its prime.
