desert life
PALM SPRINGS
by Pamela Price
[email protected]
Desert Women with Visions that Go Beyond
PHOTO BCOURTESY ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN CENTER, MICHAEL HINCKLE
Shining a spotlight on just a few
Julius Shulman's black and white photograph of Palm Springs City Hall
(1958), on display at the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center, brings
back memories for his niece, Timmy Shulman Woods, during its exhibition.
W
hether a full time or seasonal resident,
women are making a difference in the
desert community. To point out just
some of their efforts, I’ll introduce you to two
lovely ladies making two very different kinds of
impacts.
First up, Ellen Goodman, Foundation Director
for the Palm Springs Unified School District. In
her closing remarks at last year’s “Champions of
Excellence” event, Goodman said “One goal is to
elevate the academic curriculum through career
pathways and academies, and prepare high school
students for more than minimum wage jobs.”
She has championed that caused since she
arrived in the Palm Springs area many years
ago. Through Goodman’s work on the PSUSD
Foundation, along with the 19 other community
leaders and staff involved with the District,
four high schools (in Palm Springs, Desert Hot
Springs, Rancho Mirage and Cathedral City)
benefit from the programs she referenced in her
remarks at the Foundation event.
Opening doors in the field of arts and
design is Timmy Shulman, an internationally
known handbad designer who has had family
connections to Palm Springs her whole life.
“Our trips to Palm Springs focused on
photographing this bold architectural style
where my uncle was fascinated endlessly with
the desert light and how the architecture of E.
Stewart Williams, Albert Frey, Donald Wexler,
among others, merged interiors with the
dramatic scenery, the mountains, open spaces. It
created drama which has been captured and now
archived and preserved in Palm Springs, where it
all started!” Shulman says.
The Palm Springs Art Museum’s Architecture
and Design Center recently opened an exhibit
featuring Shulman’s uncle’s iconic black and
white photographs showcasing Palm Spring’s
place in the mid century modernism era.
While studying a photograph taken in 1961
of Palm Spring’s City Hall, Shulman recalled,
“Uncle Julius was inspired by the open floor
plans, butterfly roofs, angular structures and
streamlined façades.”
Several years ago, Julius, at the age of 96,
photographed Timmy’s handbag collection in
Los Angeles. He arranged the architecturally
inspired handbags in juxtaposition with the
natural landscape. Those photos also made their
way to the Palm Springs Art Museum’s gift shop,
along with Shulman’s collection of handbags.
And on a final note, there’s more news for
women from The Tolerance Education Center
in Rancho Mirage. Melisse Banwer, Managing
Director, says a new book, “Encountering
Women,” will be on show in March as part of an
exhibit featuring the photographs of women from
around the world taken by Evelene Wechsler.
Melisse said women from the Coachella Valley
and beyond were invited to submit essays or
poems for consideration. The theme, “the
struggles and triumphs of women in society” is
intended to teaching the danger of hatred and
bigotry.
On all fronts, Coachella Valley women are on
the move. A
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