There is Only One Paul R. Williams
Featuring: Janna Ireland
There is Only One Paul R. Williams highlights the work of the first certified black architect west of the Mississippi River. Paul R. Williams (1894-1980) who was a Los Angeles native that built a successful architectural practice decades before the Civil Rights Movement. His graceful designs and mastery of myriad architectural styles made him impossible to ignore.
In the course of his 50 year career, he designed nearly 3,000 buildings. He designed municipal buildings and private homes. He designed banks, churches, hospitals, and university halls. He designed public housing projects and mansions for celebrities like Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball.
If you have ever spent an afternoon driving around Los Angeles, you have seen a Williams building or two.
Make sure to also check out Inspired Live at Photoville LA.
ARTIST BIO
Janna Ireland was born in Philadelphia, but has chosen Los Angeles as her home.
She holds an MFA the from UCLA Department of Art and a BFA from the Department of Photography and Imaging, Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Ireland is the 2013 recipient of the Snider Prize, presented by the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College Chicago.
Her work has been shown in solo exhibitions in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Chicago, and in group exhibitions across the United States and internationally. She has been published in Aperture, Art Papers, Vice, and the Los Angeles Times.