Structures of Utility: Vernacular Architecture of the Great Central Valley by David Stark Wilson
	List Price:   $45.00 Unit Price:   $36.00 You Save:   $9.00 (20%) ISBN-10:   1890771627 ISBN-13:   9781890771621 Publisher:   Heyday Books Edition:   illustrated Category:   Agriculture Pub. Date:   January 2003 Pages:   144
Subjects
BUILDINGS ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Description/Notes
Wilson, a building designer for over twelve years, explored the back roads of California's great Central Valley and the Sierra foothills becoming increasingly captivated by the agricultural buildings that punctuate the landscape. Using a large format view camera, Wilson has elevated architecturally under-appreciated structures of pure utility-packing sheds, grain silos, wooden tank house outbuildings, and mine elevators-and given them consequence, meaning and a haunting beauty. This slightly oversize (11.25x11.25<'>) book is filled with a remarkable collection of superb b&w photos of utilitarian structures, now empty and unused, in the wide rural expanses of the Central Valley in California. Wilson, an architect, used a wide-format camera to create portraits of buildings such as grain elevators, tank houses, and stamp mills used in mining. The photos are presented in full-page and two-page format. The text consists of occasional short descriptions of the photos and critical commentary on the disappearance of the small farmer and business owner. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) A documentary photography collection highlighting the unexpected beauty, the austere design aspects, and the extraordinary presence and functionality of agricultural structures in the Central Valley, to include: packing sheds, grain silos, wooden tank house outbuildings, and mine elevators. The book features over 75 duotone photographs and approximately 10,000 words of text.