Tract House #10
1971
Lewis Baltz (American, 1945-2014)
Not on View

Baltz is best known for his controlled and emotionally detached views of the urban landscape. His photographs record public spaces, residential homes, construction sites, business developments, and their environments. This image is from the artist's "Tract Houses" series, a haunting group of twenty-five photographs that meticulously document the banal details of suburban housing sites under construction in the Southern California area. The abstracted views of the residential tract homes present close-ups of architectural details such as large concrete walls, sliding aluminum windows, and large dirt yards, as well as wider shots that capture entire houses. Void of human figures, his images comment on the vacancy and loss of individuality in mass society. Individually and as a single body of work, the "Tract Houses" combine formal elegance with a sense of underlying apathy, and focus upon the sepulchral quality of prefabricated housing.

Details

  • Artist Name: Lewis Baltz (American, 1945-2014)
  • Title: Tract House #10
  • Date: 1971
  • Medium: Gelatin silver print
  • Edition: 3/12
  • Dimensions: Image: 5-3/4 x 8-1/2 in. (14.6 x 21.6 cm)
  • Credit Line: Norton Simon Museum, Gift of the Artist
  • Accession Number: PH.1971.101
  • Copyright: © Lewis Baltz

Object Information

Lewis Baltz: The Tract Houses

  • Norton Simon Museum, 1992-11-19 to 1993-05-09

Human/Nature: Photographers Constructing the Natural World

  • Norton Simon Museum, 2015-03-06 to 2015-08-31

It Happened at Pomona: Art at the Edge of Los Angeles 1969-1973. Part 3: At Pomona

  • Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College, 2012-03-10 to 2012-05-13

Lewis Baltz: Tract House Photographs, 1969-1971

  • Norton Simon Museum, 2001-11-16 to 2002-02-11
  • Gloria Williams, The Collectible Moment: Catalogue of Photographs in the Norton Simon Museum, 2006, cat. 106 p. 146

Additional Artwork by Artist

Tract House #11 Lewis Baltz 1971
Tract House #12 Lewis Baltz 1971
Tract House #13 Lewis Baltz 1971

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