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I LOVE ART CARS
My Love of Art CarsI've been a fan of Art Cars and the grass roots art movement for quite some time and have watched it grow with keen interest for a long time, but always from afar. I'm fascinated by them, but i've never until now tried to sit down and comptemplate the reason. I think the freedom of expression they represent is a major part of it. These brave eccentrics really put themselves out there. They shout they're beliefs like a clarion call to the world. This is who I am they are saying, you can love me or hate me, I doesn't matter, you'll never change me. That's a level of freedom that most couldn't begin to comprehend.  Another aspect of the Art Car that fascinates me is the individualism of the cars. It's plain to see that every art car is a unique one of a kind. I've never followed trends or been at all interested in fashion, but I love beauty. That's why I wear a handlebar moustache. I think it's a totally awesome look and There are probably only a couple of hundred men in this city of 5 million who wear it. If the handlebar became the next big thing I would probably shave it off immediately.  I'm not expecting that's gonna happen though so my face is safe. I'm able to express my individuality and remain beautiful. I don't have an art car, but I have thought about it. The idea of a handlebar moustache themed car has crossed my mind, but i'm no artist so it'll probably never happen. One last thing, then i'll get off the subject, having finally met a lot of Art Car people at this symposium I am now sure that these are my people and I want to draw myself in closer to this crowd.
My Thoughts on Art CarsArt Car builders fall into 4 basic catagories. The oldest and largest of these groups are what I would describe as the eccentrics, which are the true outsiders of this outsider art movement. Their reasons for decorating their autos varies from person to person, but I think in a general sense it is a means of expressing their rejection of traditional values, which can constrain, in favor of the total freedom of personal choice. The world of total freedom can be a scary place, that's one reason I admire these individuals. The second group are those who use their cars to promote a political or social agenda. Often these first two groups overlap as many of the eccentric cars also carry a message, most commonly religious in nature. The third group is comprised of more traditional artist  who use the art car as a medium for their art. This group produce some of the most elaborate and exciting cars. The fourth and fastest growing group, of which I am a member, are people who, if they are like me, are disaffectd by mainstream society and want to associate with and belong to a different kind of society, one that share's their love of freedom and personal choice. This group may not necessarily own an art car, but sympathize with the inspirations of the individuals who do.
About the SymposiumThe Symposium was a precurser to the big event, the parade, which followed the next day. It was held at The Rice University Media Center cinema which is actually how I heard about it as I receive e-mails concerning upcoming events there. I'm really glad I did because I never attend the parade because i've really developed a distaste for large crowds in my old age. This was a perfect opportunity to meet and greet with the art car cognoscenti. Boy was I ever glad I decided to make it as I really had a great time. I've already done enough fawning in this article so I wont continue to repeat myself. I drove to the event straight from work so I arrived early and got a good parking spot right up front. I hung around the parking lot and greeted the drivers as they arrived. That's when I got most of the best pictures. Everyone who has built an art car is understandably proud of their work and more than happy to pose with their work. They all seem to be pretty nice people  so there were lots of smiles going around. The art car parade is like the Super Bowl of art cars, it's a very important event that draws people from all over the world. Many people are meeting and greeting kindred that they haven't seen in a long time. After the arrival of the cars Boogereater played a short set of music on the lawn in front of the media center. Their music is somewhere in realm of classic rock with a punk/garage edge to it. I enjoyed listening to them immensly. After the music we all filed inside the theater for the main events of the symposium. The show was hosted by Kim from theThe Orange show. She announced the segments of the symposium and told a few jokes.  The event was so intimate I felt like I was sitting in someone's living room and we were watching home movies, which is actually not too far from what we were actually doing. The first part of the symposium was a very tenderly done slide show presented by Suzanne Theis, also of The Orange show, of some of the people closely associated with the art car movement who are no longer with us. This was followed by a short movie, a little bit of a preview of some of the artist working on the cars they were building for the fast approaching parade. It provided a glimpse into the creative process of the people who actually do this. Next [insert name here] presented a humorous slideshow of  photoshopped pictures with the theme "What Would Jesus Drive." The main event which followed was renowned eccentric singer and multimedia artist Terry Allen who played a crowd pleasing set of "car songs." The man's got some balls I can tell you that. The first thing he said, and i'm paraphrasing, is something to the effect of "You people are crazy. Anyone in Houston who does anything to a car should only be to help you get the hell out of this god damn town as quickly as possible." That may be, but we decided to stick around and enjoy the art cars nonetheless. After the symposium I hung around and talked some more with some of the artist before heading home. What a great night.
Update: I'd just want to say a word of thanks to all the people who have been so kind and helped me to fill in the blanks on these pages. I'd especially like to give a special thank you to Brian Taylor and all the folks over at the Houston Art Car Klub. You guys are great and I really appreciate all the help. |
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