Jerald Cooper receives the 2023 Julius Shulman Institute Excellence in Photography Award.
The Julius Shulman Institute (JSI) at Woodbury University is pleased to announce Jerald Cooper, founder of @hoodmidcenturymodern is the recipient of 2023’s Julius Shulman Institute Excellence in Photography Award. Under the Instagram account @hoodmidcenturymodern Cooper has created a national visual discourse exploring and describing “Black Modernism” in architecture, communities and spatial experience. Unlike previous awards Cooper’s digital platform favors storytelling content that combines audio visual clips, photos and commentary over the printed image. The innovative medium of @hoodmidcenturymodern has attracted a large following and engagement with people interested in architecture and the built environment outside the usual commercial or museum context in a way that is reminiscent of Julius Shulman’s photographic oeuvre, which resulted in an explosion of interest in modern architecture through the medium of popular national magazines rather than museums and special interest literature.
The Hood Century is a socially engaged profile that will replace the traditional format of a gallery show with a series of interactive events. The weekend of March 1, 2 and 3, 2024 will consist of a series of events including an in-person collage and research workshop with students at Woodbury’s School of Architecture, a tour of #blackmodernism in residential architecture by black architects in Los Angeles and a “living room hang” guided discussion with music and images at a residential site.
“Mr. Cooper has developed a unique method of output that is especially relevant to our world today. He educates people who can be empowered through social media and shares the visual stories of Black modernism,” says Barbara Bestor, Executive Director of the Julius Shulman Institute at Woodbury University.
Last Updated February 27, 2024