The People of Klamath Falls by Ed Drew

The trajectory of my work has always arced toward Americana and the understanding of the American “experience.” Within groups I sought to show the varying faces of American minority, and deconstruct the American Dream. With my latest body of work, The People of Klamath, I was commissioned to make portraits of tribal members of the Klamath, Modoc and Pit River Paiute people in Klamath Falls, Oregon. My interaction with the tribal members in creation of this work was one of the most enlightening experiences I've ever had. Indeed in all of my photo projects while I reference the idea of the American Dream through the past, I am in reality using the working process as a bridge to empathize with my subjects. By connecting with them, I am able to have a true understanding of the dynamics of the American experience.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING—A CITY FOUNDED IN SPANISH CALIFORNIA

Millard Sheets, Mural Painting Depicting the Founding of Los Angeles, c. 1931–39. California Historical Society Title Insurance and Trust / C.C. Pierce Photography Collection at USC Libraries, CHS-7519 

On September 4, 1781, forty-four Hispanic men, women, and children of Native American, African, and European descent departed from Mission San Gabriel Arcángel accompanied by two mission priests and four soldiers. Los Pobladores (the settlers) walked nine miles to a location on the banks of the Porciúncula (Los Angeles River). There they established El Pueblo de la Reyna de los Angeles (the town of the Queen of the Angels).

Type Tuesday - Timely Typography

A recent donation of 1970s era Timely Typography catalogs continues to inspire us with bright colors and exaggerated designs. 

Jaime Henderson
Archivist
jhenderson@calhist.org

Type Tuesday - Solotype

Dan X. Solo and his Solotype is a Type Tuesday favorite that was just recently introduced CHS' Graphic Designer Tim Evans. So for this Type Tuesday we offer an assortment of his Solo favorites!

Jaime Henderson (with help from Tim Evans)
Archivist
jhenderson@calhist.org

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING — Stern Grove: "Mystical" Gift to San Francisco

Stern Grove Amphitheater, 2005; courtesy of the Stern Grove Festival Association

August 16, 2015, concludes the 78th Stern Grove Festival—the annual outdoor performing arts event sponsored by the City of San Francisco—at the historic Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove south of Golden Gate Park.

As the season closes, we recall the history of Stern Grove and celebrate the contributions of the celebrated landscape architect Lawrence Halprin (1916–2009). Halprin’s design for the 2005 renovation of the Stern Grove Amphitheater has created what Stern Grove Board Chairman Doug Goldman describes as “a world-class park and performing space.”

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING — The 50th Anniversary of L.A.’s Watts Riots: Anna Halprin and the Studio Watts Workshop

  

Arson and Street War, Life magazine, August 27, 1965

Courtesy California ephemera collection, UCLA Library Special Collections

Fifty years ago, from August 11 to 17, 1965, a community was shattered. A city was torn apart. Property was destroyed. Lives were lost.

The Watts Riots in Los Angeles—to some a riot, to others a rebellion—were set off by the arrest of a black drunk driver and the altercations that followed. While the McCone Commission’s investigation rooted the turmoil in inequality, poverty, and racial discrimination, a 1970 Institute of Government and Public Affairs survey of almost 600 Watts-area residents cited poor neighborhood conditions, mistreatment by whites, and economic conditions.

Type Tuesday - Strathmore Paper Company

"The way to demonstrate the style of the merchandise is by means of illustration."

Strathmore Paper Company's brochure advertising their line of Expressive Papers features wonderful illustrations of men's sportswear, accessories and haberdashery. Printed on Strathmore's Bannockburn Cover in white on lightweight stock the illustrations capture the sartorial elegance of the 1940s era sporting man. 

Jaime Henderson,
Archivist
jhenderson@calhist.org

This Day in History - August 10: The U.S. Rights a Wrong

Japanese Americans sell their belongings prior to evacuation from the West Coast. 
Photographer: Russell Lee. Library of Congress. 

On August 10, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Civil Liberties Act which issued a formal apology and a sum of $20,000, to every American of Japanese ancestry imprisoned in “relocation” camps during World War II.  “Here we admit a wrong,” said President Reagan in his accompanying remarks, “Here we affirm our commitment as a nation to equal justice under the law.”

Type Tuesday - Stephenson and Blake Co.

Today we feature Playbill, "a new-old type" designed by Robert Harling and offered by the foundry of Stephenson Blake Co.,Sheffield, England in 1939. 

Jaime Henderson,
Archivist
jhenderson@calhist.org