Bullock W. Wynn Bullock

Aperture, 1976. — 104 p. — (The Aperture history of photography).This is a great collection of Bullock's black and white work.Wynn Bullock was a consummate practitioner of the craft of photography, using the tools of his trade to express himself with eloquence. He is not easily placed within his chosen field, however, as he kept challenging and redefining the medium.Born in Chicago (April 18, 1902) and raised in South Pasadena, California, Wynn's boyhood passions were athletics and singing. The latter became his first career, and it was not until he was giving concerts in Europe in the mid-1920's that he became intrigued with another means of expression that felt more directly creative than his own. Discovering the paintings of the Impressionists and post-Impressionists as well as the photographs of Man Ray and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, he experienced an immediate affinity with these artists and their explorations with light. As a result, he bought a simple box camera and began making pictures. Photography remained a hobby, however, until 1938 when he enrolled in the Los Angeles Art Center School. There he concentrated his efforts in experimental imagery. Three years later, his work was showcased in one of the L.A. County Art Museum's early solo photography exhibitions.