Four&Sons

Presently empty

BY Sarah McArthur, December 5, 2011

Many a fine artistic enterprise has grown out of the Southern Californian desert. With a solid history of producing some of the finest rock and roll the States have to offer there’s something special about the hard living desert lifestyle that creates a rare breed. In the words of desert loving Eagles of Death Metal front man, Jesse ‘Boots Electric’ Hughes “the desert is beautiful, but it’s also really severe” and it’s these contrasts that bring life to John Divola’s series Dog’s chasing my car in the desert.

In contrast to Divola’s Isolated houses series which capture the beauty of the desert landscape through large format, this series is quick and dirty. It’s black and white, super fast film on a 35mm camera. It’s dynamic images that capture the frantic nature of a dog on a hopeless trajectory. It’s the harshness of desert life. It’s an instant that is captured again and again, it’s a different dog, a different town but it’s the same. It’s desert life in Southern California.

The dance between dog and car is a futile endeavour but the story replayed itself for Divola repeatedly. This repetition brings the series together with contrasts that constantly push and pull the viewer. Divola contrasts domestic and wild, empty and full, speed and stillness with the bigger questions like culture and nature, heroic and idiotic.

John explains, “no one sneaks up on a dog in the desert. A dog can hear your car coming for several miles and will see you coming almost as far away. By the time you arrive he has developed a level of anticipation.”

The desert creates a rare breed.

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Photography by John Divola
See the complete Dog’s chasing my car in the desert series here

Tags Black&White, California, Cars, Chase, Collection, Desert, John Divola, Photography