Come Fly with Me

Here, the skies of Planet X are crowded with vintage aircraft from planet Earth.

How did they get here? Who, if anyone, is piloting them? Do they come in peace?












For answers to all these questions and more, please visit our show:

Davis & Davis - PLANET X

March 26 - April 23, 2011
Gallery hours: Tues.-Fri. 10:30-5:30, Sat. 11-5

Marx & Zavattero
77 Geary Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 627-9111
www.marxzav.com

Fog of War

In this great clash of beings, who to root for?

Who is wearing the helmets - the invaders or the citizenry? What do all the different colors signify? Which side are the robots on?

Unh! Who just hit me?

Shock and Awe

This native Planet Xian stands mesmerized by the technological marvel before him.

Is it a gift of the gods? An hallucination? A new piece of playground equipment? Should he approach it or stay put atop the sacred mountain where nothing evil can touch him?

A Rock and a Hard Place

How long has he been holding up that rock?

Long enough to take this picture.

Dino Might

These gentle giants of Planet X roam the cratered surface in search of edible vegetation - a very scarce commodity, in our experience.

When no vegetation is available, they sometimes resort to eating anything they find that's green.

The Icemen Cometh

These citizens of Planet X are like everyone else in all ways but one.

These guys are made of ice. Likewise the trees. How they got that way remains a mystery. Is there a Mr. Freeze on Planet X firing off his cold gun at anything that moves (and a few things that don't)? Where is Batman when you need him?!!

Do You Know the Way to Planet X?

Where is Planet X? And for that matter, what is it?

The search for Planet X began in 1841 as the search for the eighth planet in our solar system and continues today as the search for the
ninth. Planet X was first renamed Neptune (we know where that is), then Vulcan (Urbain Le Verrier's intra-Mercurial planet), then Pluto (a planet no more), then Niburu (Zecharia Sitchin's "12th planet") then Xena (named after the protagonist of the TV series "Xena, Warrior Princess"), and now Tyche (a hypothesized gas giant planet located in the Solar System's Oort cloud). Planet X is not a real planet, but rather a placeholder for planets yet to be found. In a mathematical sense, it is a variable: X = n +1, where n is the number of the last discovered planet.

The View from Planet X

A hazard-fraught, chance meeting of native and non-native species? A traveling optometrist making a house call?

In X09 we meet eye to eye with ...? What has three legs and one eye?

Bossa Nova

Supernova? We think not. More likely an unknown, extraplanetary object exploding as it enters the thin, upper atmosphere of Planet X.

A similar event occurred here on Earth in 1908 over the Tunguska River in Russia. The blast leveled some 80 million trees over an area of 830 square miles.

The Orb Responds

This citizen of Planet X is seen firing his sidearm at a hovering orb. The orb responds with a shudder. Is the orb a vessel or a living thing?

Might Planet Xians not ask the same question about our elephants?

Pussyfooting

Are there cats on Planet X?

Yes, there are. In fact, we have reason to believe that cats, as a species, originate on Planet X.

Hookers on Planet X?

Today's $64 question - are there hookers on Planet X?

The answer, of course, is yes, but only in the seedier neighborhoods.

A more interesting question might be, what is that red ball on the wire coming out of the car? We think it's a lure of some kind. The green women of Planet X seem to be attracted to red baubles, perhaps because the color contrasts so nicely with their skin. And the '57 Cadillac - how'd that get there?

Where did you think they all disappeared to?

Welcome to PLANET X

Davis & Davis - PLANET X opened March 26 at Marx & Zavattero in San Francisco. This photo is entitled X01 and it's not actually in the show. We feature it here, because it was the first photo in the series and we're feeling nostalgic.

From our artists' statement: Toy spacemen of the late 40's and early 50's combine a pre-Sputnik naiveté about space travel with a cold war paranoia about all things alien. Their art deco space suits feature bell jar helmets and back-slung, oxygen tanks; their elaborate ray guns bulge with deadly, high technology. Because they appeared before the dawn of the Space Age, they don't look like the astronauts we know today and seem to recall a future yet to come. For the series PLANET X, we photograph these spacemen as they struggle with robots and other technology, with monsters and aliens, and with themselves in the barren, cratered landscape of Planet X.

Davis & Davis - PLANET X

March 26 - April 23, 2011
Gallery hours: Tues.-Fri. 10:30-5:30, Sat. 11-5

Marx & Zavattero
77 Geary Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 627-9111
www.marxzav.com

Through February 5

Our Dream Big exhibition will be up at L2Kontemporary through February 5, 2011.

Gallery hours are Thursday to Sunday, 1 - 6 pm.

L2Kontemporary
990 N. Hill St. #205
Los Angeles, CA 90012
323-225-1288

Thanks to everyone for asking questions about the work, so that we'd have something to blog about!

Acting debut?

Q: Who is the actress in "Film Actress, Hakone?"

A: We're not sure. We couldn't read the TV guide. If anyone recognizes her, please comment.

Drive, She Said

Q: Are there a lot of female bus drivers in Japan?

A: With all the buses we rode (dozens), we only saw one female driver, the subject of this photo, entitled, "Bus Driver, Kyoto." And an excellent driver she was.

Food for Thought

Q: Why are so many of your subjects working in food service?

A: First, in our travels, we encountered a lot of food service workers. Second, most of the food service workers we encountered were women.
Third, most of the jobs available to Japanese women are in the food, retail and service industries, traditionally the lowest paying jobs.
Fourth, since the subject of this photographic series is working women of Japan, ...

A Yen for Japanese food?

Q: Why does the woman in "Restaurant Worker, Nara" look so unhappy?

A: We have 2 theories on this:

1.) The restaurant has very low prices. Low prices = low wages = unhappiness?

2.) She's not unhappy; she's stoic.

Mother, may I?

Q: In your photo, "Mother, Tokyo," which one is the mother?

A: Who knows? There were two similarly dressed women sharing one baby carriage and one baby. Our guess is the mother was the one left holding the baby.

Gift Gardener

Q: What's growing in the gift garden?

A: This is obviously a gift shop in a train station, not an actual garden, so nothing grows there.

Except gifts.

Any fan of Anpanman...

Q: What does an anpan cook cook?

A: An anpan, as any fan of Anpanman will tell you, is a bean cake. Most anpans are round (like Anpanman's head), but these are fish-shaped. The subject of this photo, "Anpan Cook, Tokyo," was the woman in the back of the kitchen. She had just finished beating some Anpan batter and was briefly resting her hands.

Cat Food

Q: Where was this shot taken?

A: We shot  "Gyoza Cook, Tokyo" in a Gyoza Museum in a hard-to-describe place called Namja Town in a mall in Tokyo. This woman works in one of 20 gyoza eateries overseen by a creepy cartoon gangster cat (Namja).

Say Cheese?

Q: Why was this woman smiling?

A: It was starting to rain and the subject of "Tea House Hostess, Kyoto" was trying to leave for the day, but tourists kept accosting her and demanding that she pose for a snapshot with them. She was the very picture of tolerance.

Master's Voice

Q: What makes you think these women are spokesmodels?

A: If you look closely at the left arms of the subjects in "Spokesmodels, Tokyo," you can see parts of a familiar slogan printed on their sleeves. The Victor Company of Japan (JVC) retained the trademark, "His Master's Voice," when it broke with RCA at the start of WWII. These spokesmodels are apparently bound for a trade show where they will be displaying JVC products.

At the Cross Walk

Q: I'm surprised they have Catholic schoolgirls in Japan.

A: Don't be thrown off by the crosses. That's not a Catholic schoolgirl in the photo entitled, "Maid Cafe Waitress, Tokyo." It's a maid cafe waitress on her way to work.

Tokyo has a number of these maid cafes, as they are known, where the waitresses wear french maid costumes in homage to a certain blonde, french maid, anime character.

Any Requests?

Q: Did any of your subjects ask you not to photograph them?

A: Surprisingly, no, but there was one woman who indicated a distinct interest in being photographed. She was the subject of this photograph, entitled "Sushi Vendor, Tokyo."

Some friends have speculated that Japan's camera culture has inured people to being photographed. Osoraku, kono ne wa truedesu.

Doggedness

Q: How did you get inside the room to take this picture?

A: For the photograph, "Dog Groomers, Tokyo," we weren't inside the room. These women were working in a storefront window, so we shot through the glass. In the lower right and upper left you can see reflections of the street.

The dogs seemed to appreciate their view of the outside world.

Dreaming Big

Q: Was this woman asleep when you took the picture?

A: No, actually, "Produce Vendor, Tokyo" has her eyes open. In the full size print you can see that she looks more like she's daydreaming than dreaming.

This is the first image of the series. The Dream Big t-shirt in this shot inspired an Internet search that turned up this quote from former Miss Universe Japan, Kurara Chibana: “Dream big, build self-confidence, although in Japan, that can sometimes work against you. Then, because you fear rejection, you hide your passion and eventually, it becomes difficult to hold onto your beliefs and dreams. Establish yourself around people you can trust, like friends and family, until you become self-assured.” This quote further inspired our research into unfair working conditions for Japanese women. That's how we came up with the idea for the series.

Elusive Geisha?

Q: How did you get that shot of the geisha? When I was in Kyoto, I didn't even see one.


A: Just lucky, we guess. We shot this photo in the Gion district of Kyoto in the early evening. This woman was apparently on her way to work. Simultaneously, another geisha was leaving the teahouse around the corner with a gentleman friend. He (the friend) had a bad combover.

New Blog - New Series

Welcome to the Davis & Davis Bløg. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be blogging about our new series, "Dream Big," which is now on exhibit at L2Kontemporary in Los Angeles. We will display images from the show and answer questions about the work.

Several people have asked, about this photograph, entitled "Deer Biscuit Vendor, Nara," "are the deer Photoshopped in?" 

The answer, of course, is yes. Just kidding. We shot this photo in Nara Park in Nara, Japan, home of Todajai temple, the world's largest wooden building, which houses Japan's largest bronze Buddha, Daibutsu. The 1200 free-roaming deer that live in the park are quite beautiful, with glossy coats and antlers. They seem rather tame, until you try to feed them.