Isolated Houses | John Divola
N34°11.185’ W116°06.725’, 1995-1998,
from the series Isolated Houses
Archival pigment print
Image: 30 x 30 inches
Paper: 42 x 40 inches
Edition of 8 + 2 AP
Written by Max Wiener
If you’re standing next to someone at Yancey Richardson Gallery, you’ll feel alone looking at John Divola’s photography. He can strip you of your surroundings, leaving you alone with your thoughts and his world. Feelings of lonesomeness and weariness immediately flood your palette and transport you to a world unlike yours. His exhibition opened on June 1 and ended on July 7.
N34°09.951’ W115°49.269’, 1995-1998,
from the series Isolated Houses
Archival pigment print
Image: 18 15/16 x 19 inches
Paper: 24 x 20 inches
Edition of 8 + 2 AP
Man feels the most alone in the desert, and Divola’s photography only amplifies this theory. The focal points of his images - the isolated houses - seem further away than we perceive them, almost metaphorically asking us to walk farther to reach our destination. The barren landscapes of his work make us feel detached, dropped off from civilization with no lifeline whatsoever. Divola’s ability to completely seclude the viewer from their world makes his photography (particularly this series) so brilliant. Even in New York, one of the most cramped and crowded cities, we feel spaced out looking at a Divola photograph. Our peers seem far away, possibilities sequestered. We are only here with ourselves, and because of that, we easily draw conclusions and interpretations from the art. There are no distractions to weigh us down.
N34°11.965' W115°54.308', 1995-1998,
from the series Isolated Houses
Archival pigment print
Image: 30 x 30 inches
Paper: 42 x 40 inches
Edition of 8 + 2 AP
Even in what could be considered a harrowing exhibition, Divola uses his lens to capture the unsung beauty that exists in the world. In the song “Scarlet Begonias,” Jerry Garcia used to sing, “Once in a while, you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right,” perfectly summarizes this exhibition. Looking at the houses may make you feel slightly helpless, but look at the beauty surrounding them. The moon is there to guide you toward the light. You can smell the breeze that ever so gently picks up off the cool desert ground. The ecstatic display of color in the night sky immediately puts you at ease. Where some photographers want to show off the immense beauty of the world, Divola shows us that even the smallest things are the most beautiful.
Isolated Houses is a humbling experience. They are mere boxes in the foreground of the vast Western landscape, but they offer a sense of comfort. We can approach them, and their inhabitants will offer hospitality. This series provides us with hospitality.
