Art Department

Vans and the places where they were.  This is the title of the new series of photographs by Joe Stevens, a filmaker and photographer who has shown at the Hammer Museum of Los Angeles and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.  Just as the title suggests, the series is of parked vans scattered around various locations; in this case, in Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Through repeated imagery, the vans become less forgotten object and more portrait.  Maybe it's the drab custom paint jobs, the familiarity, or the weathered clunker look.  Maybe it's how the surrounding environment and the vehicle seem to morph as one.  What is clear, though, is that the photographs don't just capture a moment but seem to create one.

images by Joe Stevens from Vans and the places where they were

written by Derrick Taruc