In 1967 while an undergraduate at the San Francisco Art Institute, Lewis Baltz began ‘The Highway Series,’ one of the most influential bodies of work within the history of photography. Later renamed the ‘Prototype Works,’ Baltz trained his camera on what many would regard as generally unremarkable subjects: signage, walls plastered with stucco, boarded windows and doors, motel rooms, and vacant urbanscapes.
‘These early pieces both synthesize a set of generational concerns in art and anticipate the concerns of more than one generation to come. Simply put, this is one of the most impressive bodies of student work ever assembled’
Object quality was of prime importance to Baltz. His exhibition prints were dry-mounted flush to a second piece of archivally processed photographic paper. The corners were clipped diagonally and the edges of the photograph were blackened with India ink. The photograph was then mounted to board slightly warmer in tone than the print. This presentation method ensures the photograph stands apart from, rather than sinks into, its surroundings.
Prints of this image have been located in the collects
ions of the Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, and the Benton Museum of Art, Pomona College, Claremont.