Janna Ireland was commissioned by the Julius Shulman Institute to photograph the work of Paul R. Williams, which culminated in the exhibition at WUHO Gallery curated by Andrea Dietz. Now, 聽is a photographic exploration of the work of the first聽licensed Black architect west of the Mississippi River. Known as 鈥淗ollywood鈥檚 Architect鈥�, Paul Revere Williams was a Los Angeles native who built a wildly successful聽career as an architect decades before the Civil Rights Movement. He designed municipal buildings and private homes as well as banks, churches, hospitals, and university halls. He designed public housing projects and mansions for celebrities like Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball. In 1923, Williams became the first Black member of the American Institute of Architects. In 2017, nearly forty years after his death, he became the first Black recipient of the AIA Gold Medal.
In her book Regarding Paul R. Williams: A Photographer鈥檚 View,聽artist Janna Ireland explores the work and legacy of Williams through a series of intimate black-and-white photographs. Ireland gives the reader a vision of Williams that is both universal and highly personal. More than a book of architectural photographs,聽Regarding Paul R. Williams聽is the result of one artist鈥檚 encounter with another, connecting across different generations within the same city.
In addition to the photographs, Janna describes the project in her introduction 鈥橳he Architecture of an Icon鈥�. Dean Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter also contributed an essay to this book, titled 鈥楤eyond Style鈥�, and JSI Director Barbara Bestor contributed the 鈥楢fterword鈥�.