1963 VW Pelt |
The Automobile
and Contemporary Art
This second intense reaction to a
shortage of oil and gasoline unleashed another wave of discontent related to
the automobile and its place in American life. One amusing response was the
work of California artist Dustin Shuler. On the night of October 23, 1980 at
California State University Domingues Hills, a 1959 Cadillac was illuminated,
elevated on four oil drums, and then pierced by a 20 foot “nail” that was
dropped 100 feet from a boom crane.24 The Cadillac was then pulled
on to its side and left on display in an exhibit entitled “Death of an Era.”
Schuler saw this act as akin to a hunt for a wild animal, and later he took
apart the Cadillac in a way that left it “skinned,” like an animal pelt. So
encouraged by this first work, Schuler subsequently skinned and created pelts
of a VW beetle, a Fiat Spider and a Porsche 356C! Schuler summarized his activities
this way:
All the cars I have skinned and, for
that matter, all the cars on the road can be considered an endangered species.
While I am not arguing for the preservation of this species, I notice the
‘evolution’ that is going on right before my eyes [new cars coming off the
docks and old cars being scrapped] and I want to collect a few good specimens
before they are gone.25
Dustin Schuler -- Big Stuff |
Not
all of the artists of the 1980s were this dark in their views concerning the
automobile and its future, particularly after gasoline became more available
and prices dropped precipitously. For example, at Meadowbrook Hall in
Rochester, Michigan, a number of art exhibitions were held in conjunction with
the concours beginning in the mid-1980s. In reflecting on their interest in
painting cars, several of the artists commented on impressions made during
their youth. Argentinean Hector Luis Bergandi attributed his interest in cars
to a racing mania that swept though his native county when he was a teenager.
He wrote that his work on racing cars was similar to his technique when
painting horses: “It’s not only how they look, it’s mostly what they do, how
they smell, charge, pump, sweat. . . . ” Dennis Brown, from
Covina California, reflected on “spending countless hours with my best
friend . . . taking apart his ’34 Ford coupe – polishing,
cleaning and painting; watching the sun reflecting off that beautiful lacquer
pint job or sparkling like a diamond in the chrome trim. The shadows were
cool . . . almost liquid pools of pure color reflecting the
grass or trees or the neighbors’ white fence.” While the play of light and
emotions were the focus of many artists of this era, some attempted to
reconstruct the place of the automobile in American life. Finally, getting
inside the machine – a popular genre of art often found in automobile
magazines, were pursued by New York City artist Robert A. Pentelovitch, whose paintings
of engines and transmissions were intended “to provide insight to a world of
wonderful shapes and forms otherwise unacknowledged for their beauty by a
society which takes machinery for granted.”26
Santa's Supply Train by Hector Luis Bergandi www.hlbergandi.com |
Héctor Luis Bergandi for his biography and all he'll say is: "I was born at my grandparents home in Rafaela, province of Santa Fe, Argentina, ... |
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