Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake, IA

Label TextThis photograph portrays an icon of Iowa history, the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. Soth’s image of an empty stage, as seen from the venue’s vintage sprung dance floor, shows us the Surf as it looked in 1999. However, there is also a timeless quality to the scene. The empty stage, red curtains, faded beach mural, and American flag all nod to the longevity of this place as a gathering spot. Most famously, these things quietly acknowledge the Surf’s place in the story of American rock n’ roll and that genre’s tragic record of stars lost too young. After a concert held on this stage on February 3, 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson boarded a small plane that quickly crashed after taking off in a winter storm. In the decades since, the Surf has become a pilgrimage site for music fans and now maintains a small “Hall of Fame” museum and a memorial at the crash site. This rich history, combining nostalgia, Americana, and loss, is a typical subject for Soth. Throughout his body of work, he has turned his lens on places with a storied past, showing them in the present but nevertheless capturing the ghosts of days gone by.

DimensionsFrame: 33 x 41 x 1 1/2 in. (83.8 x 104.1 x 3.8 cm)
Image (visible): 31 1/2 x 39 1/2 in. (80 x 100.3 cm)

Accession Number 2025.13

Classificationsphotograph

InscriptionsSurf Ballroom, Clear Lake, IA A. Sloth 2004 1/10 (center verso, ink on sticker)

Edition1/10

Provenance(Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco); PIlara Family Foundation [purchased from the previous, 2004]; Des Moines Art Center [gift from the previous, 2025]