Dogs Chasing My Car in the Desert
John Divola is a leading figure in documentary photography. In the 1990s, while photographing scattered houses in the Morongo Valley desert, he was often greeted by barking dogs, who had probably heard his car coming from miles away. Dogs Chasing My Car in the Desert emerged from this chance encounter, which Divola, interested in conceptual art, transformed into a systematic recording method, equipped with a 35mm camera and low-sensitivity black and white film. “When I saw the dog approaching, I would focus and set the exposure. One hand on the wheel, I would stick the camera out of the window with the other, sometimes even using up a whole roll of film.”
In the desert, which to the human eye can be interpreted as an empty space, the visual significance of the elements changes, and everything takes on an existential quality. That’s why this series, in which dog and camera seem united in an abstract kinetic dance, reactivates with minimal but compelling visual force the question which is inseparable from the history of documentary photography, of what deserves to be recorded.
Born in Los Angeles, USA, in 1949, John Divola earned a B.A. from California State University, and an MFA from University of California, where he studied under photographer Robert Heinecken. He has taught Photography and Art at numerous institutions including California Institute of the Arts (1978-1988), and since 1988 he has been a Professor of Art at the University of California. Divola was featured in the 1981 and 2017 Whitney Biennials and was the subject of a three-museum retrospective in 2013 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the Pomona College Museum of Art. Since 1975, his work has been featured in numerous exhibitions in the United States, Japan, Europe, Mexico and Australia, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Walker Art Center, Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern and Fondation Cartier pour l’art Contemporain in Paris. His published books include Continuity, Isolated Houses, Dogs Chasing My Car In The Desert and Three Acts. Finally, his work is held in numerous prestigious collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Paul Getty Museum, V&A, Tate and Centre Pompidou of Paris.
Indoor and outdoor installation
John Divola
DOGS CHASING MY CAR IN THE DESERT
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