Art to Rival Design

For nearly four decades photographer Marvin Rand has been documenting the architecture of Southern California for a variety of popular and professional books and journals.

Particularly celebrated are his exquisite photographs of the early-20th-Century designs of Irving Gill and the brothers Charles and Henry Greene, many of whose buildings have since been demolished.

In a pleasing coincidence, Rand’s distinctive photographs of the works of these architects will be on display in separate exhibits:

The Greenes at Kirsten Kiser’s Gallery for Architecture, 964 N. La Brea Ave., from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays, until April 29; and Gills, at the Modern Living gallery, 4063 Redwood Ave., 10 to 7, Monday through Friday, and 12 to 5, Saturday and Sundays, from March 25 through May 1.

Rand, ever the diplomat, won’t say whose architecture he prefers, saying that each has its genuis.

“What I try to do is abstract the content from the details of the design that express the indigenuous creativity of the architect.” It is the sort of statement that architects love, and has made Rand one of the more popular practioneers.