Frozen in the Frame: Divola's Brandstater Show Made a Case for Riverside's Arts Scene

Upon entering the gallery, the ambience of the exhibition immediately casts a minimal, almost existential feeling, as though time itself has been halted. Linen prints of birds and a rabbit of various hues line the walls of the gallery, their once dynamic subjects frozen in stillness. At first glance, the images appear quite simple — almost like ordinary photographs. However, beneath their quiet presentation lies a deeper reflection on humanity's tendency to capture and control the natural world.

This idea is central to "Seven Songbirds and a Rabbit," an exhibition by John Divola that was on display from Feb 16 to March 19 at the Brandstater gallery at La Sierra University.

Currently residing in Riverside, John Divola is an American contemporary visual artist, educator and professor in the art department at University of California, Riverside (UCR). His work, spanning multiple decades, challenges conventional understandings of photography and its limitations.

The works featured in the exhibition originate from the Keystone Mast Archive, housed at the California Museum of Photography at UCR. The images used are stereographic negatives — two nearly identical images captured side-by-side to represent what the left and right eyes see. When viewed through a stereoscope, they create a three-dimensional effect. Popular from the 1850s to 1920s, they once served as a widespread form of visual entertainment and education.

To create his work, Divola appropriated these archival images — an artistic practice that involves reusing existing visuals to generate new meaning. He isolated the animals — birds and a rabbit — and printed them onto linen before framing them in a manner resembling traditional archival displays.

Although the title "Seven Songbirds and a Rabbit" may initially seem insignificant, it reflects specific details Divola discovered while examining the original glass-plate negatives. The title emphasizes how vast archives can contain small, "accidental" elements that often go unnoticed unless they are deliberately isolated or highlighted.

Using a combination of appropriation and isolation, Divola used these images to challenge the idea of photography as a single "instant." By focusing on the animals themselves, he encourages viewers to examine the multiple layers of detail and nuance within a single frame.

While the images appear unassuming on the surface, the exhibition carries a deeper meaning: it critiques the human impulse to organize and control reality. Archives such as the Keystone Mast attempt to "capture" the world in a single frame, yet they fall short of conveying the living, dynamic nature of their subjects. Here, the birds and rabbit remain frozen — their stillness creating a continual tension between freedom and order.

The work also reflects a broader human tendency to categorize and simplify the world. Despite our need for simplification and accessibility, this drive often strips away the complexity that makes life one-of-a-kind.

By bringing this work to Riverside, the exhibition provides local access to historical photographic archives while contributing to the region's growing arts scene, bringing local audiences closer to significant works in their own backyard.

More Information: The Brandstater Gallery is located at La Sierra University, 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside. Gallery hours are Monday–Thursday, noon–5 p.m., except during exhibition installations. Spring exhibition dates are to be announced. For updates, visit lasierra.edu/centers/brandstater-gallery.

By Erik Chen