A black dog walks down a dirt lane towards a burgundy car parked behind a blue-painted corrogat…

Macon, Lafayette, Tennessee

Artist Joan Liftin (American, 1935 - 2023)

Date1994

Mediumcolor Cibachrome print on paper

DimensionsImage: 12 3/8 × 18 3/8 inches (31.4 × 46.7 cm)
Matted: 20 × 24 inches (50.8 × 61 cm)

Portfolio/Series"Drive-ins" series

Credit LineGift of Helen Levitt.

Object number1999.11.2

On View

Not on view

Copyright© Joan Liftin. The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextJoan Liftin worked on a series of the traditional American experience of the drive-in movie theatre for over 20 years, publishing them in a book titled Drive-Ins in 2004. Her photograph from 1994 shows a drive-in theatre in Tennessee during the harsh glare of the midday sun. Liftin’s burgundy-colored car captured in the right corner foreground of the photograph speaks to the car culture associated with the mostly suburban and rural nostalgia of the drive-in experience, which had its heyday in postwar America during the 1950s and 60s. The area surrounding the theatre is expansive and barren with small buildings and houses dotting the landscape. Joan Liftin has a fruitful career as a photographer and photo editor. She directed the International Center of Photography’s Documentary and journalism education program for twelve years and was a staff photographer and photo editor for UNICEF.

Subject MatterLafayette, Tennessee, United States of America

Terms