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Rear of Screen, Yucca Drive-In. US 85, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Rear of Screen, Yucca Drive-In. US 85, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Rear of Screen, Yucca Drive-In. US 85, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Former TitleYucca Plant Drive-InTheatre, US 85, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Artist Jim Dow (American, born 1942)
Date1975
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 20 3/16 × 16 3/16 inches (51.28 × 41.12 cm)
Sheet: 23 7/8 × 20 inches (60.63 × 50.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Hall Family Foundation
Object number2018.51.60
SignedSigned on sheet verso, bottom, in pencil: "© [signature]"
InscribedTitled, dated, and editioned on sheet verso, bottom, in pencil: "YUCCA PLANT DRIVE IN THEATRE, US 85, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO. 1975. Printed 1/96 PP #1/25,"
Markingsnone
Edition/State/Proofed. 1/25
On View
Not on view
Collections
DescriptionImage of a metal sign with a yucca plant at the bottom and it's blooms at the top; fluorescent tubes outline the sign.Gallery Label

Drive-in movie theaters reached their heyday in the 1950s and 1960s. Catering to Americans’ love of cars, they offered affordable entertainment for families and privacy for teenagers.  

 

The Yucca Drive-In, which operated in Santa Fe from 1950 through 1994, featured a sign on the rear of its screen meant to illustrate the region’s native yucca plant. Though the flower itself, which lit up in neon, was visible in the evening, the sign resembled a large phallic symbol during the day. This factor added to the theater’s popularity as a local tourist attraction.

Provenance
The Hall Family Foundation, Kansas City, MO, 2018;   
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2018.
Copyright© Jim Dow
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