Judy Fiskin

Untitled

1974

Judy Fiskin’s intimately scaled black-and-white photographs examine the aesthetic decisions behind vernacular architecture, popular culture, and art. Her early photographs of Southern California locales—1920s and 30s stucco houses, a Long Beach amusement park from the 30s, and “dingbat” apartment buildings from the 50s and 60s—capture the distinctive character of the landscape. Fiskin’s images are unpopulated; however, they focus on the products and activities of people. The act of looking at her small-scale photographs is, according to Fiskin, like looking through the viewfinder of a camera—a strategy that attempts to shorten the distance between the viewer and subject.

Judy Fiskin (b. 1945, Chicago; lives and works in Los Angeles)
Untitled, 1974
Gelatin-silver print
7 x 5 in.
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Gift of the artist