Disappearing Car, Desert Center, California, 2015
This photograph was made at an abandoned truck stop located along the southern route into Joshua Tree National Park. Brothers had visited the site many times, drawn to its faded café sign and weathered gas pumps—symbols of a disappearing roadside America and examples of what he calls “Western Abandon”.
According to Brothers, on this overcast day, clouds raced across the sky, perfect for a long film exposure. Midway through the shot, a vintage 1947 coupe pulled in unexpectedly. The driver, on a cross-country retirement trip from San Diego to New York, unknowingly transformed the composition. Brothers later remembered,
“I told him, ‘Please don’t move the car—you just made the shot.’”
Medium Format Infrared Analog Pinhole Capture, scanned and printed on Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper, Collection of the Artist
American Film
Pavement Ends West Begins
