Zuma #9 1978

John Divola made "Zuma #9," using photography to capture something between destruction and serenity. The palette is all over the place, warm sunset colors bleeding into cold, ashy blacks and browns. It's like a process of both creation and obliteration happening at once. Look closely, and you’ll see the textures—charred wood, peeling paint—almost tactile. The surface has this tension, where smoothness is disrupted by rough edges and decay. That one window, boarded up on one side, open to the ocean on the other, is especially intriguing. It's a metaphor maybe? The interior, wrecked, and the exterior, boundless. Divola reminds me a bit of Gordon Matta-Clark, who also played with architecture and decay. Art is definitely a conversation, an exchange of ideas across time, where ambiguity is embraced. There is no one answer.