Zuma #11 1978

John Divola’s photograph, Zuma #11, captures the interior of a dilapidated structure overlooking the sea. I want to know what he was thinking when he made this! The walls have been scorched, the door frames are burnt, but beyond, the ocean persists. I keep thinking, he could have cleaned this up, made it pretty, but instead he immortalized it, just as it was. There’s a strange beauty in decay, a stark reminder of time's passage. The charred surfaces and crumbling textures remind me of Twombly's paintings, where destruction and creation are so intimately intertwined. It's like Divola is playing with contrasts: devastation versus serenity, the ephemeral versus the eternal. What is the role of an artist, if not to bear witness? It’s about seeing beauty in unexpected places, and maybe even finding a little bit of hope amidst the ruins. Just like the Abstract Expressionists, Divola is saying something urgent and true through his art.