April 22, 2022


Julius Shulman Institute Awards





The Show 

Each year, the Julius Schulman Institute selects and commemorates a photographer dedicated to capturing and appreciating the built environment. To commemorate the 2022, 2021, and 2020 winners of the Julius Shulman Institute’s Excellence in Photography Award, The BAG held a triple-headed exhibition.

On, Light, Time, and Materiality by James Florio

Florio’s photographic works capture the intimate details of the built environment in nature and within cityscapes. Many of his past works and projects document how time, nature, and climate impact architecture and landscapes. This exhibition primarily highlighted Florio’s work in collaboration with MAS Context and Iker Gil for a book of the work of Ensamble Studio, and also featured work produced with the support of the artist residency at Tippet Rise Art Center in Fishtail, Montana.

“I work to capture a stillness and a depth that is outside the rapid and hurried frame in which architecture is so often depicted and shared. Over the course of three years, I immersed myself in Ensamble Studio’s projects to gain a more profound understanding of their spatial qualities and the elements that shape and transform them. This body of work is a reflection and an exploration of Ensamble Studios’ practive over the past twenty years as well as themes of light, time, and materiality. The images serve as windows into these elements to foster a deeper understanding and connection to the structures around us.”

Chicago: A Southern Exposure by Lee Bey

Southern Exposure challenges the assumptive notion that beautiful works of architectural expression cannot exist in underserved communities. Visiting sixty sites, Bey includes works from notable Black architects such as Walter T. Bailey, John Moutoussamy, and Roger Margerum, along with relatively unknown work by other architects including Jeanne Gang, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Eero Saarinen. Bey’s writing and photographic work have been consistent in creating public discussion on the importance of architecture as cultural expression and civic engagement, as he does in his book Southern Exposure: The Overlooked Architecture of Chicago’s South Side.

Taxonomy of a Landscape by Victoria Sambunaris

Victoria Sambunaris is known for her in-depth examination of the geological and human forces that have shaped the vast American landscape. Sambunaris’ work is defined by her large-scale photographs and her extended, project-based journeys that she takes across the country each year. Fully embedded in the landscape, Sambunaris combines in-depth planning and research with classical, analog methods using a five-by-seven wooden field camera to advance the tradition of American landscape photography. By subtly revealing the ways in which humans inhabit the landscape, Sambunaris highlights the need to consider the long-term impact of the continual cultivation and development of the land.


    The Artists

         James Florio (2022 JSI Awardee) @jamesfloriophotography
           
           Lee Bey (2021 JSI Awardee) 
                    @leebey
           
           Victoria Sambunaris (2020 JSI Awardee) @victoriasambunaris
          


      James Florio, On Light, Time
      Victoria Sambunaris, Taxonomy of a Landscape
      James Florio, On Light, Time
      Lee Bey, Southern Exposure
      Lee Bey, Southern Exposure