Explore the Era

Delve into the postwar Los Angeles art world in this online archive, which provides additional material related to the exhibitions on view at the Getty Center. Learn about hipsters and happenings, and the venues across the city where all the action took place through images from the archives and first-hand accounts with the artists.

Automotive Landscapes #5: Los Angeles

Automotive Landscapes #5: Los Angeles, Anthony Hernandez

Automotive Landscapes #5: Los Angeles, 1978, Anthony Hernandez. Gelatin silver print. 11 3/4 x 17 1/8 in. Purchased in part with funds provided by the Photographs Council of the J. Paul Getty Museum. © Anthony Hernandez

On View at the Getty Center: In Focus Los Angeles 1945-1980

Hernandez started photographing what he refers to as “automotive landscapes” in 1977, using a 35mm camera until he realized that a large-format camera loaded with 5 x 7-inch negative film would provide the detail he desired. Taken from a slightly elevated vantage point, Hernandez’s image of an immobilized truck and its lone mechanic in front of a repair shop presents a sobering view of Los Angeles’s car-dominant culture.