Shell III, Caffe Napoli (from Retail), 2000 Chromogenic Print, 48 x 60 inches - Courtesy Brent Sikkema, NYC Mobil II, Inglewood (from Retail), 2001 Chromogenic print, 48 x 60 inches - Courtesy Brent Sikkema, NYC art SUR LA TERRE 10 art 11 suburban dwellings fully evoke the modern American life. Following the example of the America that he Tim Davis’s wishes to show, his photographs are captivating and light. In the series Lots, he photographs gas stations at night, empty parking lots totally devoid of any human Commercial presence. Again, consumer society with its lot of violence, abundance, and futility is at the heart of his artis- tic interests. The colors in these pictures remain alluring, even if the America subject itself is not. When Tim Davis attacks politics, he In his series Retail, Davis unveils to photographs government build- The three series of photographs us nocturnal landscapes illuminat- ings, protests, election campaign ed by neon lights, with consumer offices, a communist summer featured show us society reflected in house windows. camp, a gun show, and of course All kinds of advertising logos can be the grandmother’s collection of the commercial face of seen glowing on the windows. activist buttons. In the series My Thus, McDonald’s, Burger King, Life in Politics, he displays the the- America through Dunkin’ Donuts, and Shell adorn atrical side of political life: badges, the middle class houses. activist buttons, flags, and slogan urban landscapes. Photographed individually, these stickers. All these faddish signs of Text Felipa de Almeida www.falmeida.com Photography all rights reserved Exxon (from Retail), 2001 Chromogenic print, 48 x 60 inches - Courtesy Brent Sikkema, NYC SUR LA TERRE 12 art belonging are part of daily life for a large number of American citizens. Are they proof of great commitment or just outward signs of superficial beliefs? Sur La Terre met with Tim Davis, who talked about his trip through- out the United States: what he looked for and what he found. Sur la Terre : What was your first contact with photography ? Tim Davis: My father, like many middle class Americans, was an avid amateur photographer. We had a small darkroom next to the kitchen and I remember its acrid chemical odor during our meals. My father is a musician, but in the early seventies, having a darkroom for black-and-white 35-mm pho- tography was a very common hobby. The first time that I took a picture, I remember how disap- pointed I was when I found out that I had used color film instead of black-and-white. Mattress behind Denny's (from Lots), 2001 Chromogenic print, 30 x 40 inches, 76.2 x 101.6 cm S.L.T : Is your work a social doc- Courtesy Brent Sikkema, NYC umentary ? T.D : I think that all my work is a documentary, because I am always pointing my camera at a subject and recording its immediate pres- ence. Critics often refer to me as a “conceptual” photographer, be- cause my work is not put in the form of journalistic photo docu- mentary. During photography festi- vals - such as the Rencontres d’Arles - there are always big S.L.T : Is your work describing an 1880. They told me: “Nothing from tographers, we would not under- debates on the nature of “docu- artificial America ? this book exists anymore. Even this stand anything about ourselves. mentary” photography vs. “art.” I T.D : There is no other America. The street was a stream.” Economically believe that there should be a sep- dead soldiers photographed by we are devoted to the notion of the S.L.T : How do you link yourself aration between the journalistic Matthew Brady on the Civil War “next great idea.” The earth and its to the “hyper-commercial” ? photo and the artistic photo. Each fields were moved and tampered resources have become a series of T.D : I am attracted by the com- has different objectives. The first with for dramatic effect. Ansel stores for commercial interests that mercial world because I am inter- one confirms expectations of pho- Adams took most of his “sublime” are constantly changing. ested in light; light as a substance tography and the second one chal- landscapes of the West from the In my hometown of Amherst in instead of the aesthetic vocabulary lenges them. other side of the road. And certain- Massachusetts, a new shopping of photography. Commercial places I like to describe my work as “inves- ly, since Walker Evans, honest center was built twenty years ago, use light for specific purposes: to tigative art.” The term “investigative American photographers share the right across from the old one, which attract, reveal, sell, and conceal. My journalism” pulls up more than idea that the American landscape is then looked ridiculous and dilapi- intentions are to reveal other more 220,000 entries on search engines, a place of change and simple dated. Over the past several years, critical aspects of the illumination while “investigative art” elicits only facade. We are in a country that the old shopping center has been that are more evident and 142. I want my work to receive the lacks a notion of history. replaced by a Wal-Mart. All this to grotesque in these commercial insightful and provocative status of I saw a father and his daughter explain why photography is vital in places. I am looking for beauty in journalistic writing, while always walking down Minetta Lane in this country. The photographer the American commercial land- developing the idea of the photo- Greenwich Village in Manhattan plays an essential role by instilling a scape that is ravaged, empty, stu- graphical practice. with a guidebook that dated from notion of existence. Without pho- pid, and metastasized. I attempt to SUR LA TERRE 13 art Good Way Oil (from Lots), 2001 7-11 (7/12/00) (from Lots), 2001 Chromogenic print, 30 x 40 inches, 76.2 x 101.6 cm Chromogenic print, 30 x 40 inches, 76.2 x 101.6 cm Courtesy Brent Sikkema, NYC Courtesy Brent Sikkema, NYC outline the defects of light usage in photo of a person that is as inter- Therefore, I don’t feel at ease is wearied by her story. The last these places. Of course, I am also esting as the person himself. On going into portrait photography. five minutes are just shots of build- attracted by light. the other hand, the picture of an ings, and the world becomes a Any artistic expression is in some object is itself an object and can S.L.T : What movies influenced series of powerful visual experi- way critical while at the same time therefore have the same value as you the most ? ments. memorializing the culture that sur- its subject. Besides, I’ve never felt T.D : Movies that focus deeply on rounds it. The camera is generous, at ease with the idea of the “por- the world. Like “Mirror” by S.L.T : What influence has Walker democratic, non-critical, and trait.” This term comes from the Tarkovsky, in which each shot is a Evans had on your work ? accessible; therefore photography Latin PORTAHERE, which means visual vocabulary in its own right. T.D : His AMERICAN PHO- may contain negative and critical “to carry in front,” implying the por- And of course “L’Eclisse” by TOGRAPHS had an immense energy while remaining captivating trayal of an aspect of the inside life Antonioni, where Monica Vitti is a influence on my last project. In My and convincing. of the person posing. But to me, dreamer and researcher who can Life in Politics, I used some this seems impossible, since the barely keep her eyes on Alain images of progressive documen- S.L.T : Why are human charac- camera is only interested in sur- Delon, the sexiest man on Earth. tary photography. I traveled ters never included in your faces. She is constantly observing across the country looking for work? The photographical portrait is a through the window the architec- political activities that are still T.D : My new project - MY LIFE IN practice that lacks theory, and ture of Rome under Mussolini. The unknown. Just like AMERICAN POLITICS - contains several fig- there are very few texts on the frenzy of the stock market horrifies PHOTOGRAPHS, , my latest proj- ures, but in a bigger sense. I’ve power dynamics between the per- her, and she finds refuge in the ect was enormous and did not always thought that there is no son posing and the artist. visual. At the end, the movie itself limit itself to certain subjects or SUR LA TERRE 14 art One People One Nation One Taco One Destiny (from My Life in Politics), 2002-2004 10 cents and still good! (from My Life in Politics), 2002 Chromogenic print, 48 x 60 inches, 121.9 x 152.4 cm - Courtesy Brent Sikkema, NYC Chromogenic print, 20 x 24 inches - Courtesy Brent Sikkema, NYC S.L.T : What is your connection with architecture ? T.D : I see architecture as a means of controlling humans. It can control the way we move, the way we see, and the way light affects us. I am deeply against all types of control and I therefore reject most architecture. I per- ceive my work as an attempt to fight against the goals of architecture: by searching for signs of human presence that destroy the integrity of the master plans, while observing the blight of the sculpture and painting of architecture. S.L.T : How do you see the evolution of your work T.D : I don’t think that I am following the best career plan for an artist.