Seen on Campus: William Eggleston’s “Untitled (Baby Dolls on Cadillac)”

As an avid music enthusiast, I first encountered William Eggleston’s work when I discovered the influential cult rock band Big Star. Not only was I drawn to their music, a uniquely disarming brand of power pop, but I was captivated by the visuals that decorated their album covers: from the bold neon-lit star on their bright debut to the candid black-and-white photography complementing the disturbing tone of their third and final album and, most notably, the peculiar photograph that adorns their sophomore album, Radio City. The work titled Red Ceiling focuses on a dormant light bulb mounted on the eponymous red ceiling, but it utilizes rich, bold colors, creating an incredibly striking picture. It seems so warm in its color palette, yet its subject matter is cold. That was my first introduction to Eggleston’s work as a photographer.

I continued to dive deep into music, which inevitably led to the discovery of Big Star founding member Alex Chilton’s solo work. Aptly named Like Flies on Sherbert, laden upon the front cover of his debut was one of the strangest pictures I had ever seen used for cover art: a close-up of a bunch of baby dolls lined up along the hood of a Cadillac, courtesy of Eggleston. I was initially off-put, wondering the reason for using the peculiar image, but upon listening to the album, I discovered that the album art was very fitting. The music was no less weird than the cover, featuring intentionally flawed, amateurish, outlandish performances of genre-spanning covers and originals. The album’s art and music complemented each other very well.

When I came to Davidson, it took me a little while to start exploring art across campus and in the storage. While observing art on campus, I halted when I saw the familiar picture of weirdness. A strange picture to find familiarity, I was reminded of Chilton’s musical oddity. But seeing it apart from the work I had long associated it with gave it another sense of mystery. Nothing was attached to this work besides its location and my prior knowledge. 

Like Red Ceiling, Untitled (Baby Dolls on Cadillac) features rich colors in the background. I could see this so much more in the picture than I had before. The vibrant blue gives it a sense of artificiality, much like a movie. That is in large part due to the photographic medium utilized. Dye transfer printing makes colors look very strong but also dated. The retro-feel of this picture is more off-put by the strange subject matter. Speculation about the picture’s meaning arises, but it feels more surreal than anything else. It seems the desire to capture weirdness is the best explanation for it.

As a first-year, my first few weeks here at Davidson were a time of significant adjustment. Adapting to a new, unfamiliar environment made me feel detached at times, so stumbling on this work by Eggleston brought a sense of familiarity, oddly enough. Now that I have become accustomed to life at Davidson, more and more artworks have connected with me, but this weird work will be significant for the early connection it inspired when I came across it.

– Caleb Machorro ’28

William Eggleston (American, b. 1939) is a photographer from Memphis, Tennessee. He was introduced to dye-transfer printing during his tenure as a professor at Harvard. He is notable for his work with color-transparency film in the 1970s, which heightened the medium to greater artistic legitimacy. His works typically feature ordinary subject matter, sometimes reflecting American lifestyles and pop culture. His works have been featured in solo exhibitions at MoMA, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and many others.