Contemporary California Photography. Exhibition Catalog, San Francisco Camerawork Gallery, 1978.

San Francisco Camerawork, 1978.  Stiff illustrated wraps, near fine with minor indentations on cover, binding and pages like new.  68 pages. Photographers:  Jerry Burchfield; James Bailey;Michael Levine; Robert Cumming; Steve Kahn; Lew Thomas; Robert Heinecken; Timo Pajunen; William Kane; John Divola; Catherine Wagner; Harvey Himmelfarb; Robbert Flick; H. Arthur Taussig; Lawrie Brown; Marsha Bailey; Harold Jones; William DeLappa; Gillian Brown; Lew Thomas, et al. Texts: Jack Welpott; Hal Fischer; Donna Lee Phillips; Kenneth Shorr; Wanda Hammerbeck; James Hugunin; Jack Fulton; Leland Rice; and Craig Morey.  Catalog for three exhibits curated by Jack Welpott, Leland Rice, and Harold Jones. Summary:

Contemporary California Photography (San Francisco Camerawork Gallery, 1978) was a seminal exhibition and accompanying catalog that surveyed the radical, evolving photographic landscape of California during the late 1970s.

Published by SF Camerawork—a key non-profit artist-run space dedicated to experimental photo-based media—the catalog served as a snapshot of a major regional shift away from traditional modernist aesthetics toward conceptual, narrative, and post-modern practices.

Key Themes & Structural Highlights

• Departure from West Coast Modernism: The publication highlighted a deliberate break from the pristine, black-and-white landscape tradition established by Group f/64 (Ansel Adams, Edward Weston). Instead of untouched wilderness, artists turned their focus toward urban sprawl, domestic spaces, and constructed environments.

• Pluralism & Experimentation: The featured work reflected the 1970s push into conceptual art, incorporating staged photography, narrative sequences, mixed media, collage, and hand-tinted or altered prints.

• Emergence of Color Photography: The exhibition captured the rise of color as a serious artistic medium, aligning with the broader "New Color" movement gaining momentum across the United States in the late 1970s.

• Social and Subcultural Commentary: Reflecting the political and cultural climate of California in 1978, many works engaged with personal identity, suburban alienations, feminist critiques, and regional subcultures.

Historical Significance

The catalog documented a transitional moment when California cemented its role as an epicenter for photographic innovation. By showcasing diverse contemporary voices alongside critical commentary, the publication helped define "California Photography" not as a single aesthetic style, but as an open-ended, experimental approach to the medium.