The original image in question is of the affluent Stahl House, located in the Hollywood Hills. The photograph is often referred to as Case Study House no. 22, where photographer Julius Shulman composes a stunning, visual argument for the real estate market. I intended to keep a similar message, translated for the future in regards to wealthy living and how big, both literally and figuratively, the gap between wealthy and poor can reach.
With increasing talk of space colonization from the likes of Elon Musk as well as President Trump’s announcement of a Space Force in his latest State of the Union address, the buzz around space exploration is certainly high and serves as the primary inspiration for my piece. In the not-so-distant future, I imagine the wealthy, much like those portrayed in Case Study House, having the ability to choose to live in close orbit to Earth. The mystical Los Angeles view is replaced with a vibrant, colorful view of Earth in my image yet the house and the women inside it remain black and white. This is to show the contrast between the rich, who choose to move away from the poorer parts both in the original image by moving higher up the hill and in my representation by moving away from land completely, and the rest of the world, who have no choice but to stay in the planet full of color and character. The Earth can be viewed as land, plagued with rising climate disaster and potential war, where my image suggests the complete selfishness of some of the rich, who might have the choice of running in the future, instead of helping.
Diego’s Blog 