Joe Deal didn’t live in California but returned to it throughout his career to articulate its self-devouring growth, subdivision on subdivision. Deal died on Friday of cancer. He was 62. St. Louis Beacon obit here.
Teacher: What’s 2 plus 2, Michael?
Micheal: 4.
Teacher: That’s good, Michael.
Michael: It’s not good, it’s perfect.
Joe Deal’s photos are perfect. They are what it is, images of an Etch-A-Sketch state that keeps erasing and repeating itself, without Bill Owens‘ hapless charm or Ed Ruscha‘s consolation of the cool.
Deal, Watering, Phillips Ranch, California, 1983
from Subdividing the Inland Basin
14 x 17 inches
vintage silver print (Image via)