Photographs of Los Angeles Freeways (1999) [3/M]



Photographs/negatives
State Library Victoria, Howard Arkley archive: MS 14217/8/449-524

These photos, taken by the artist shortly before his death, were apparently intended to serve as source material for future freeway paintings.

They were first discussed (with a reproduction of a typical example) in Gregory 2000. For further comments and reproductions, see Spray (rev.edn), and Carnival, as cited below. In the Arkley show at TarraWarra (Dec.2015-Feb.2016), a sequence of these photographs was exhibited, and the example shown here (SLV MS 14217/8/470) was reproduced in the catalogue.

Gregory (2022) goes into further detail about the hints some of these photographs may contain regarding future freeway compositions planned by Arkley, comparing other working drawings and source material in the artist’s archive.

Provenance

  • artist’s collection
  • Howard Arkley archive (acquired by SLV 2011)

Exhibited

  • HA TarraWarra 12/15-2/16 (a selection of photos)

Literature

  • Gregory 2000:29-30 (illustrating another example)
  • Spray (2001 ed.), pp.144-5 (reproducing two other examples)
  • Carnival 46 and Fig.1.30 (another example)
  • Fitzpatrick & Lynn (2015), pp.22 and 141 (ill.)
  • Gregory, “Mining the Howard Arkley Archive” (2022), pp.19-20, reproducing two other examples