University Park, Pa. -- The Department of Architecture will present a screening of "Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman," followed by a question-and-answer session with the film's director, Eric Bricker, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 29, in 101 Stuckeman Family Building on the Penn State University Park campus. The event is the first in the department's 2010-11 lecture series.
Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, "Visual Acoustics" is an award-winning film that celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, one of the world’s greatest architectural photographers, whose images brought modern architecture to the American mainstream. Shulman captured the work of nearly every modern and progressive architect since the 1930s, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, John Lautner and Frank Gehry.
In 1999, when looking for vintage photos of San Francisco, Bricker met Shulman and an enduring friendship between the two began. Recognizing the extraordinary talent of the architect inspired Bricker to create Visual Acoustics. Bricker holds a bachelor of arts degree in English literature and a minor in theatre from Indiana University. After moving to California, Bricker worked in film and television production with such notable talent as Jerry Seinfeld, Alec Baldwin and Danny Aiello, and explored his affinity for music, playing percussion with various artists, including Lula and Afro-Brasil and Perry Farrell. It was during this period that Bricker decided producing and directing his own film projects was the most conducive route for his creative expression. He founded his art consultation firm, Artistic Designs Unlimited, in 1996.
Bricker is currently working on a narrative feature film exploring the contemporary art world while running Kaleidoscope Mediaworks.