Brown VanDura with Tan Stripes Campground in Deming, NM Winter 2009
Yellow Dodge with Tri-Tone Stripes Near Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA Spring 2007
Yellow Dodge with Orange Stripes Centinela Boulevard, Los Angeles CA Winter 2009
Orange Tradesman with Stripes Venice Beach, California Winter 2007
Orange Chevy Santa Monica, CA Spring 2004
Green Chevy Near Ocean Park, Santa Monica, CA Winter 2003
White Tradesman with Stripes Near the Airport, Burlingame, CA Winter 1996
Gypsy Near Downtown, Los Angeles CA Spring 2006
Trans Van by Champion Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA Winter 2002
Fifth Ave. Street Van Santa Monica, California Spring 2004
Ram Van by Pete Ellis Near MacArthur Park, Los Angeles Summer 2007
Mariona Bayview District, San Francisco CA Summer 2005
Ram Prospector with Tri-Tone Stripes Westlake Area, Los Angeles Winter 2006
White Dodge with Red Wheel Beneath the 110 Interchange, Los Angeles Fall 2008
Econoline with Primer and Tarp Santa Monica, CA Winter 2007
White Chevy Beneath the I-10 Interchange, Los Angeles CA Fall 2008
White Chevy with Blue Stripes Near the Airport, Burlingame CA Winter 1996
White Econoline with Blue Stripes Venice, CA Winter 2002
Landmark Chevy Mission District, San Francisco CA Summer 2007
Blue Chevy with Stripe Los Angeles, California Fall 2008
Black Econoline with Blue Mural Castro District, San Francisco Summer 1997
Black Tradesman with Orange Stripe Potrero Hill, San Francisco Fall, 1997
Joe Stevens of Philadelphia, PA
VANS (and the places they were)
Vans and the Places Where They Were documents surviving custom and conversion vans across the West and examines the dialogue which exists between a van’s design aesthetic and that of its surrounding environment. The project began in 1996 and currently consists of hundreds of images shot on 120 film.
Over the course of the project the vans themselves have become more and more of a rarity. The reasons are as simple as rust and changing tastes; and as complex as government “cash for clunkers” initiatives encouraging more fuel-efficient transportation. Notably, at the same time these vans have been disappearing from our roads – film photography as a visual medium has also begun it’s slow death.
Consequently the goal of the project is to one day shoot the last remaining van on the final frame of photographic film in existence. Then the project will be finished.
Joe Stevens is a filmmaker and photographer living in New York. His work has appeared in the Hammer Museum and the Museum of Modern Art and has been featured in Creative Review, Fast Company, Intersection and The Guardian.
Steven’s 2008 film Made In Queens, (produced by MTV2 Films), profiles a teenage gang from Trinidad who blast 15,000 watts of music from the enormous custom homemade stereos jury-rigged onto their rusty BMX bikes. The film, which premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, has become a cult hit and is currently touring festivals worldwide.
