MARK RICE: "Through the Lens of the City: NEA Photography Surveys of the 1970s" (2005)

The Los Angeles Documentary Project was one of the most ambitious of all the photography surveys supported by the NEA. In addition to including more photographers (eight) than any of the other Greater L.A. surveys, Los Angeles presented a larger subject than any of the other NEA-supported surveys of cities. The application noted that the project would be “a visual examination of the sociological and topographical diversity of one of the most dynamic and unusual cities in the world.” In their application for an NEA Photography Survey Grant, the directors of the survey were aware that Los Angeles signified more than just itself, and called Los Angeles “the ultimate city of our age.” The description goes on to address the importance of understanding what Los Angeles had become by the 1970s:

Link: MARK RICE: “Through the Lens of the City: NEA Photography Surveys of the 1970s” (2005)