Book Launch: The California Camera Club - Collective Visions in the Making of the American West
Language: English • This event is open to all
Info
Author Carolin Görgen will discuss her new book about the California Camera Club, a San Francisco–based photographic association that emerged as the largest organization of its kind in the United States at the turn of the 20th century. Although the club played a decisive role in advancing the careers of Ansel Adams and other famous American photographers, its most significant legacy lies in fostering collaborative outdoor practices. In telling the story of these largely unknown photographers, Carolin Görgen offers a new perspective on American photography.
The book was partially researched and written during her 2023 residency at the Thomas Mann House. During her Fellowship, Carolin Goergen explored an extensive archive of Western American photographers, including celebrated artists such as Carleton Watkins and Ansel Adams, from an environmental perspective. The project focused on the historical and contemporary role of photographers by challenging the common image of the lone artist/explorer in seemingly untouched nature. It considered photographic work against the backdrop of ongoing conflicts over expansion, indigenous dispossession, and violent transformation of the landscape.
For ADA accommodations, call (213) 228-7430 at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Participants
Carolin Görgen is Associate Professor of American Studies at Sorbonne Université. A historian of photography and the American West, she researches the histories of photo networks in the western United States and their environmental afterlives. Görgen’s research has been supported, among others, by the Terra Foundation for American Art, the Huntington Library, and the Thomas Mann House. She was a 2025 Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Partner
This event is organized by the Los Angeles Public Library.
