Fiat Lux!

In 1963, Nancy Newhall and Ansel Adams were commissioned by University of California President Clark Kerr to produce a book of photographs documenting the entire UC system. Among the photos that were published in the resulting book, “Fiat Lux,” at least one shows the outside of Olson Hall, a classroom building at UC Davis that also housed a video studio and a department called “Instructional Media.” Inside Olson Hall one could find nearly endless instances of a quintessential element of higher (and lower) education – and a literal nod to the project’s title – flourescent lights. In the basement of Olson Hall is an old videotape library with rolling, space-saving shelves and a halon fire protection system. The light that was allowed to be in that room came from this overhead fluorescent fixture that was updated long after Ansel photographed the building’s exterior.

Davis, California, USA, 2021

Print # 1
Price $300
Max Size 31.68" X 21.12" (80.47 cm X 53.64 cm)

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