John Divola
Encyclopedia
John Divola is a contemporary visual artist. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles
. Divola works in photography, describing himself as exploring the landscape by looking for the edge between the abstract and the specific.
in 1971 and later received an M.F.A. from University of California
in 1974. He has held residencies at many institutions including California Institute of the Arts
. He has held the position of Professor in the art department at U.C. Riverside since 1988. His work has been featured in many solo exhibitions across United States, Europe, Japan and Australia. He participated in 1978, 1989, 2000 the Museum of Modern Art group exhibitions and in 1981 Whitney Biennial
. Divola received many awards as Individual Artist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts
in 1973, 1976, 1979, 1990 and a Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in 1986. He published four books: Continuity, Isolated Houses, Dogs Chasing My Car In The Desert, and Three Acts. He was exposed at Rencontres d'Arles festival (France) in 2005.
and covered their walls in graffiti
photograph the ocean from the house's interior through windows and cracks. Divola states: “On initially arriving I would move through the house looking for areas or situations to photograph. If nothing seemed to interest me I would move things around or do some spray painting. The painting was done in much the same way that one might doodle on a piece of paper. At that point I would return to the camera and explore what ever new potentials existed.” These cyclical images skillfully juxtapose romantic skies and sunsets with a seaside structure that, frame by frame, deteriorates into ruin as it is vandalized by the artist and others who eventually set it on fire". Divola works trace a schematic desire for escape, movement and transcendence
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In "As Far As I Can Get" project, he made photographs by pushing the self-timer button on his camera. An exposure is made in 10 seconds.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Divola works in photography, describing himself as exploring the landscape by looking for the edge between the abstract and the specific.
Beginnings
Divola received a B.A. from California State UniversityCalifornia State University
The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
in 1971 and later received an M.F.A. from University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
in 1974. He has held residencies at many institutions including California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
. He has held the position of Professor in the art department at U.C. Riverside since 1988. His work has been featured in many solo exhibitions across United States, Europe, Japan and Australia. He participated in 1978, 1989, 2000 the Museum of Modern Art group exhibitions and in 1981 Whitney Biennial
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
. Divola received many awards as Individual Artist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
in 1973, 1976, 1979, 1990 and a Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in 1986. He published four books: Continuity, Isolated Houses, Dogs Chasing My Car In The Desert, and Three Acts. He was exposed at Rencontres d'Arles festival (France) in 2005.
Works
In “Zuma” project, he has described being interested in the relation between real artworks and representations of them, and the issues of the natural and the artificial. Divola said “I attempted ... to develop a practice in which there could be no distinction between the document and the original.” In his series of photographs from 1977, he used deserted houses on Zuma BeachZuma Beach
Zuma Beach is a County beach located at 30000 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California. One of the largest and most popular beaches in the Los Angeles County, Zuma is known for its long, wide sands and excellent surf...
and covered their walls in graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
photograph the ocean from the house's interior through windows and cracks. Divola states: “On initially arriving I would move through the house looking for areas or situations to photograph. If nothing seemed to interest me I would move things around or do some spray painting. The painting was done in much the same way that one might doodle on a piece of paper. At that point I would return to the camera and explore what ever new potentials existed.” These cyclical images skillfully juxtapose romantic skies and sunsets with a seaside structure that, frame by frame, deteriorates into ruin as it is vandalized by the artist and others who eventually set it on fire". Divola works trace a schematic desire for escape, movement and transcendence
Transcendence (philosophy)
In philosophy, the adjective transcendental and the noun transcendence convey the basic ground concept from the word's literal meaning , of climbing or going beyond, albeit with varying connotations in its different historical and cultural stages...
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In "As Far As I Can Get" project, he made photographs by pushing the self-timer button on his camera. An exposure is made in 10 seconds.