Common Objects revisits Lewis Baltz's most remarkable series from The Prototype Works (1967-1976) to Ronde de Nuit (19921995), and interrogates for the first time the influence of European cinema (Antonioni, Godard, Hitchcock) on his work. Baltz's seminal series The Prototype Works, The Tract Houses (19691971), Candlestick Point (19871989), Sites of Technology (1989-1991) and Ronde de Nuit are presented in dialogue with stills from several films: Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur and Psycho, Michelangelo Antonioni's Zabriskie Point, La Notte and Red Desert, and Jean-Luc Godard's Les Carabiniers.

Lewis Baltz studied photography at the Art Institute in San Francisco from 1966 until 1969 and went on to hold various teaching positions and professorships in the 1970s. In 1975 Baltz took part in the "New Topographics" exhibition at George Eastman House. Since then his works have been featured in numerous international solo and group exhibitions, and are held in various important collections worldwide. Steidl has published many of Baltz's books including WORKS (2010), The Prototype Works (2011), Candlestick Point (2011) and Venezia Marghera (2013).