Lewis Baltz was a major figure among the New Topographics of the late 1970s, a group of photographers who aimed to offer a counterpoint to heroic representations of American landscapes. Baltz offered a more critical representation of contemporary American society, creating images of modern industry, suburbia, and systems of power and control. In 1975 he participated in a landmark exhibition, the “New Topographics”, with a series that focused on an industrial warehouse complex; in the ’80s he began working in large color prints. For “Candlestick Point” (1984–88), perhaps his most famous series, Baltz explored in detail an area south of San Francisco, between the airport and a ballpark, left desolate by human intervention, while in “Sites of Technology” (1989–92) he captured the pristine interiors of high-tech industries and government research centers.
Lewis Baltz was a major figure among the New Topographics of the late 1970s, a group of photographers who aimed to offer a counterpoint to heroic representations of American landscapes. Baltz offered a more critical representation of contemporary American society, creating images of modern industry, suburbia, and systems of power and control. In 1975 he participated in a landmark exhibition, the “New Topographics”, with a series that focused on an industrial warehouse complex; in the ’80s he began working in large color prints. For “Candlestick Point” (1984–88), perhaps his most famous series, Baltz explored in detail an area south of San Francisco, between the airport and a ballpark, left desolate by human intervention, while in “Sites of Technology” (1989–92) he captured the pristine interiors of high-tech industries and government research centers.