California Dwelling

From 1978 to 1981, I lived in and photographed a neighborhood that had an uncanny visual presence. The layering of old bungalows, postwar apartments and vintage cars made the place look like no one knew what decade it was.

The view from the sidewalk could be disarming. I often felt as if I had stumbled onto a stage set or into someone else’s memory. Or that my neighbors were silently collaborating with me as they tended their lawns and parked their cars with a suburban tableau in mind.

For four years I looked and photographed. My interest was aesthetic at first, inspired by the color photography emerging during the 70s and the unexpected beauty of my surroundings. But I soon realized that I was also documenting a fragile corner of Southern California that would one day be overwritten. A portfolio of this work is in the permanent collection of the Huntington Library.