Art car

An art car is a vehicle that has its appearance modified as an act of personal artistic expression. Art car artists usually drive and own their own work. They are sometimes referred to as "Cartists". Art car artists or owners often dress in a matching motif when displaying their cars. Art cars and car artists come from all walks of life, uphold a wide range of personal philosophies and beliefs and come from all political groups.

An important aspect of art cars and car artists is the general belief that there are no standards. Ideally, there are no super stars nor is any car better than any other. Art cars are unique in that no art car is a "bad" or "wrong" art car. There is more of a sense of inclusion than in other car groups which focus on standards, specific historic periods or makes and models of car.

Most car artists are ordinary people with no artistic training. They are largely self taught and self funded, though some mainstream trained artists have also worked in the art car medium. Some consider their art to be created as a source of income or as "professional" artworks. Most others agree that creating and driving an art car daily is its own reward. Well known artists like Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol etc. have designed [http://www.bmwworld.com/artcars/ BMW Art Cars] and their work has been reflected in racing cars like the BMW V12 LMR.

Art cars can be driven as daily drivers. Others are hauled around the country on trailers and have never driven anywhere but within art car shows. Others are found everywhere from the local grocery store, to formal museums to organized shows. Some are predominantly functional whereas others are considered primarily art works. Some car artists would never rent their car out while others build cars to make money.

History

Humankind's fascination with decorating vehicles probably predates the custom of Roman charioteers adorning their chariots with objects of a personal nature. More recently, in the Roaring Twenties people who wished to express their free spirit often decorated old cars ("flivvers") with sexy or bizarre cartoons. One can imagine rows of these raffish vehicles pulled up at a roadhouse where gargantuan drinking bouts would be accompanied by uninhibited jazz, lewd dancing, and eventual trips to the 'back seat.'

There is some disagreement as to what precisely led to the growth of the art car world. It can be seen as a twining together of several influences - the hippie-themed VWs of the late 1960s, the lowrider, as well as a Merry Pranksters' creation, the day-glo schoolbus known as "Furthur."

During the late 1960s, singer Janis Joplin had a psychedelically-painted Porsche 356 and John Lennon, a paisley Rolls Royce. [http://www.officialjanis.com/porsche.html] Partly in imitation, the late 1960s/early 1970s counterculture featured many Day-Glo painted VW Buses and customized vehicles (e.g. a customized 1977 Cadillac Fleetwood seen in the film Escape from New York).

Artist Larry Fuente was among the first to take motorized appliqué to the limit with his "Mad Cad." Later, artists Jackie Harris and David Best contributed their works to the art car world.

Art cars as a community became somewhat more cohesive in the 1990s, on the spur of movies and books with a wide underground following, and the development of innovative art display venues such as Burning Man. One of the main forces behind this is filmmaker Harrod Blank, who has not only made 3 full-length documentary films on art cars, but has made three art vehicles himself, and who founded the U.S.'s second largest art car festival in the San Francisco Bay Area (q.v.) Today there are simply too many art cars for anyone to sum up and film and books can only focus on a few. Today many cars are covered by local newspapers and media. The only real way to get an idea of what is out there is to simply hit the road or attend an art car event.

A well known early art car used for commercial advertisement was the "Oscar Meyer Wienie Wagon" -- Later versions were known as the Wienermobile. These are bus-sized vehicles styled to appear as a hot dog on a bun. Commercial use of the art car has become popular in the 20th and continues into the 21st century. At the same time visionary applications including cars transformed into religious shrines continues to place visionary self taught artists, student artists and corporate artists side by side on the road and at art car events.

The art car culture was once strongest throughout Texas and the Southeast but now it extends throughout the United States and art car events can be found in many major cities as well as in small country towns. Art cars now very evident in the East, with a large event often held in Baltimore. In Canada, art cars are popular in British Columbia and also in the western Canadian plains with shows in Nanaimo, B.C. and Regina, SK. Other cars can be found throughout the world.

Artistic styles

Art cars are public and mobile expressions of the artistic need to create. Often these days art cars derive their inspiration from popular culture. Others however, are created by visionary artists in order to express complex visions, philosophies and ideas. There is a wide and varied spectrum of purpose found in art cars. In creating an art car, the "exteriors and interiors of factory-made automobiles are transformed into expressions of individual ideas, values, beliefs and dreams. The cars range from imaginatively painted vehicles to extravagant fantasies whose original bodies are concealed beneath newly sculptured shells" (from Petersen Automotive Museum's Spring 2003 Los Angeles, California exhibit "Wild Wheels: Art for the Road" Gallery Guide)Later themes have become more widely focused and more satirical or dark. One of the funniest and most inventive entries in recent memory was titled "Student Driver:" it featured a telephone pole laminated through one corner of the cabin; a leg with roller skate still attached projecting from one wheel well; and sundry jokey dents and marks of mayhem all over the vehicle. Political or educational messages are incorporated when an artist realizes that they can take advantage of the attention they garner to advance a cause. Science fiction themes (monsters, giant insects from Them!, flying saucers) are common crowd pleasers. Expressions of the Gothic and the sublime are not unknown. Surrealism is commonplace. In parades and shows, shtick often includes 'arted' bicycles or motor-scooters or costumed roller-skaters weaving among the art cars. Many art car owners are natural-born hams, and incorporate elements of music or street theater in their presentation.

Artistic style must be carefully dove tailed with the constraints of the law. However, the car artist who takes the time to read the rules is generally surprised at how free expression can be (in the United States at least). Although pulled over by police at times the car artist who is fluent in the law will find that the police are glad to be educated as they themselves often do not realize what is possible under the many law codes on the books. For daily driver cartists making sure the art is legal can be a daunting task. For some it is part of the fun.

Art Cars vs. Mutant Vehicles

Art cars have been featured at Burning Man since its inception but in recent years the festival has been forced to limit the number of vehicles on the playa. As such they have restricted the vehicles that are licensed to what they are now calling "mutant vehicles". There has been some confusion within the Burning Man and Art Car communities over these two terms, with some believing the terms are simply synonyms. According to art car artist and [http://www.artcarfest.com Art Car Fest] organizer Philo Northrup, art cars are "street-legal vehicles that have been permanently transformed into mobile sculptures". According to the Burning Man DMV, Mutant Vehicles are "'art on wheels': radically, stunningly, (usually) permanently, and safely modified motorized vehicles". [Black Rock Arts Foundation, [http://www.burningman.com/on_the_playa/playa_vehicles/dmv.html Department of Mutant Vehicles] . Retrieved January 26 2007] Obviously there is some overlap in these categories. In general if you can still easily tell what kind of a vehicle it was created from, it's probably an art car. If it can't be legally driven in city streets it's probably a mutant vehicle. A good example of a creation that is both an art car and a mutant vehicle is Carthedral (seen in image at right).

Art Cars vs. Customs and Lowriders

While there is no clear line between where a car is called a custom car and an art car, in general art car has fewer stylistic guidelines and tends more towards folk art, whereas a custom car usually strives to stretch the rules of standard automotive design without breaking them. Lowriders and custom cars are often works of art in their own right and some art car parades and gatherings have allowed them as entrants over the years. Lowriders often sport elaborate paint jobs that clearly qualify as art, thus bridging the gap between the two cultures.

Construction and Decoration Techniques

Art cars range from simply painted to complete bodies constructed from the ground up. For painted cars, one-shot sign enamel is a favorite due to its bright colors and high durability. Other artists have used everything from professional artists oil paint to children's poster paint (the latter being a temporary art car medium).

For moving beyond the confines of the manufactured shape of a car, many options are available. One common type of art car is referred to as a "gluey" in that objects of all types imaginable are glued onto the car's surface. Silicone adhesive is a favorite type of glue, with epoxy and liquid nails being other favorites. Artists will also expand the surfaces with sculptural materials such as expandable spray foam and bondo body-filler. For attaching larger and heavier objects or objects that do not adhere well to glue, bolts, screws, pop rivets and welding can be used.

Artists seeking to attach objects in a way that can easily be removed will often use magnets. These can range from items as small as pennies to entire sculptures which are several feet tall. Temporary car coverings can be tied on with string and rope or even with the edges of them being wrapped around doors and trunks before they are closed. The fact that an art car has some temporary decorations does not necessarily mean that it is a temporary art car. Many cars will have permanent modifications that they drive around with on a daily basis as well as temporary modifications that are attached only for special events and parades due to the delicacy of these objects, potential for theft and vandalism, or their unsuitability for driving at high speeds.

Lighting in the forms such as christmas lights, el wire and neon tubes helps to enhance the nighttime appearance of a car. These lights can be powered separately from the car's electrical system, plugged into the cigarette lighter, or wired directly to the battery.

The list of techniques highlighted here is far from complete. Art car artists are creative and experimental types. They have used every crafting technique from sewing to stapling and every material from wallpaper to wax, with some attempts being more successful than others. Many artists are freely willing to share the results of these experiments for the benefit of other artists (or the amusement of spectators) if only asked.

References

*cite video
people = Blank, Harrod (director)
title = [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105821/ Wild Wheels]
medium = Film
publisher =
location = USA
date = 1992
*Klein, Tim. [http://www.artcarscalendar.com/ Art Cars Calendar] , January 21 2007. Retrieved January 27 2007.

ee also

*Art bike
*Art Car Museum
*Burning Man
*Houston Art Car Parade
*James Robert Ford
*Petersen Automotive Museum

External links

* [http://www.carmada.org]
* [http://www.artcars.com/ Art Cars in Cyberspace]
* [http://www.artcarworld.org Art Car World]
* [http://www.artcarfest.com ArtCar Fest]
* [http://www.gypsymermaid.com/asc.html Artcar Society of Canada]
* [http://www.avam.org/artcar/index.html Art Cars page at AVAM]
* [http://www.greasergrrls.com/showroom/artcars1.html Greaser Grrls' Photos from ArtCar Fest 1999]
* [http://www.harrodblank.com/ Harrod Blank]
* [http://www.roadsquadron.com/ Road Squadron]
* [http://www.kentuckyartcarweekend.com Kentucky Art Car Weekend]
* [http://www.livingarts.org/artcar.htm Tulsa ArtCar Weekend]
* [http://www.artcar.blogspot.com Art Car Central Blog]