The House Imaginary, April 20, 2018 – August 19, 2018, Second Floor North, Second Floor Central Skylight, and Third Floor South Galleries, San José Museum of Art.

City Limits, City Life, December 13, 2014 - June 14, 2015, Historic Wing, Paul L. Davies Gallery, San José Museum of Art.

Variations on a Theme, May 23, 2009 - February 7, 2010, New Wing, Second Floor, Central Skylight Gallery, San José Museum of Art. (Included in Part II: August 1, 2009-February 7, 2010.)

Suburban Escape: The Art of California Sprawl, September 23, 2006 - March 4, 2007, Historic Wing, Paul L. Davies Gallery, San José Museum of Art.

City Limits, City Life (2014-2015)

Built in the mid-1950s to house Korean War veterans and their families, suburban Daly City comprises seemingly endless rows of alternating rooftops and facades. The massive scale of this city and similar sites made them distinctive features of the California landscape and a popular subject for photographers. Drawn to the geometric patterning of the repeated architectural elements in these planned developments, Robert Isaacs and other artists have transformed these homogenized spaces into eerily beautiful compositions.

Pop singer Malvina Reynolds alluded to Daly City in her 1962 hit song that disparaged the generic, new homes as “little boxes on the hillside…made of ticky-tacky.” Isaacs photographed Ticky Tacky Houses in Daly City while on assignment for TIME magazine in 1968. Many of his photographs appeared alongside the TIME article Cities and Suburbs: More and More of the Same Problems, one of many texts warning about suburban sprawl during the 1960s. Subsequent articles prompted individuals to campaign against irresponsible land management.


Variations on a Theme (2009-2010)

Numerous photographers were attracted to the seemingly infinite rows of alternating rooftops and facades of suburban Daly City, which was built in the mid-fifties to house the families of returning Korean War veterans. Pop singer Malvina Reynolds alluded to the suburb of Daly City in her 1962 hit song Little Boxes, with lyrics that disparaged the new generic homes as “little boxes on the hillside…made of ticky-tacky.”


Suburban Escape: The Art of California Sprawl (2006-2007)

Numerous photographers have been attracted to the seemingly infinite rows of alternating rooftops and facades of suburban Daly City, which was built in the mid-1950s to house Korean War veterans and their families. Pop singer Malvina Reynolds alluded to the suburb of Daly City in her 1962 hit song , with lyrics that disparaged the new generic homes as “little boxes on the hillside…made of ticky-tacky.”

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

• Variations on a Theme San Jose Museum of Art , 5/23/2009 - 2/7/2010

• Image Dimensions: 32 x 40 in. (81.28 x 101.6 cm)

This object is a member of the following portfolios: