Larry Sultan Larry Sultan was born in , NY in 1946. While he was still an infant his parents moved to the , near , CA, where he would be raised. It’s said that this shift may have influenced his work in photography.The San Fernando Valley would later become an inspiration source for many of his projects.

He attended UCSB in Santa Barbara, and graduated with a Political Science bachelor’s degree. Later he achieved a Fine Arts Master’s degree from the Art Institute.

Career details

Larry Sultan began his career as a conceptual photographer in the early 1970's. mixing documentary and staged photography, his work allows the viewers to see images of both psychological and physical landscape of a suburban family life. He was interested in photographing suburban life, displaced personhood and domestic ritual.

From 1978 - 1988 He was an Instructor of Photography at the San Francisco Art Institute.

From 1989 - 2009 Distinguished Professor of Art.

From 1992 - 1993 Served on the Headlands Center for the Arts Board of Trustees

From 1993 - 1999 taught as Chair of the Photography Department at the College of the Arts.

Camera: Mamiya RZ Camera (SLR) Published works

First Publication was in 1974, titled How to Read Music in One Evening. A series of drawing and photographic illustrations taken from instructional manuals and cheap advertisements, in the same category as the back of comic books or inside of matchboxes.

The book mainly took ordinary images and made them a metaphor for sex. Self-published in collaboration with a fellow photographer named The two photographers would go on to collaborate for more than 30+ years.

Billboards

In the beginning of 1978 - 1989 Larry Sultan with the help of Mike Mandel collaborated on billboard designs that were mostly around the San Francisco Bay Area, but would sometimes be featured throughout the country.

The idea was to reach an audience that wouldn't normally go into an art studio, or institute, and to show them their work. They wanted traffic to slow down while passing their billboards.The goal was to exploit and expose the strategies of advertising to a wide audience.

Both Larry and Mike believed that content of informations conditions how that information is perceived.

Pictures From Home

Larry spent 10 years photographing his parents in the San Fernando Valley where he grew up, between the years 1982 and 1992.

He has stated at times he was confused as to why he was making this project himself, but reasoning that the purpose was to use photography to stop time and allow his parents to live forever.

The Valley

In 2004 the magazine Maxim tasked Larry with photographing middle-class homes in the San Fernando Valley that have been rented out to the porn industry to use as sets.

Adult-film companies would rent these houses, set up and shoot for a few days, and then return the keys to the house to whoever it is that let them rent the space. Some of these people include, lawyers, doctors, etc. During filming you are still able to see their family photos on the wall, and all their other personal belongings.

Larry stated that during this project he felt at home in a place that is between fascination and repulsion, or desire and loss.

This leads to another published series of photos called The Valley.

What I find interesting about Larry Sultan is his want to understand our need for placement.

In 2009, sultans last project called homeland was about immigration and people wanting to get those suburban homes he’s been photographing all these years. In most of his work, if not all, there is an underlying theme of displacement, even in his early years when he would take photos from adds and turn them into something else, its always been his theme.

On December 13, 2009 Larry died of cancer in Greenbrae, CA., however his works and photos are still with us. Sources: http://time.com/3562317/the-influence-and-legacy-of-larry-sultan/ http://larrysultan.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Sultan