Is the Car Art?
Can the automobile be considered art? The art community claims foul because a car has practical application, therefor barring it from any true claims of being "art". Apparently true art can have no practical application... which seems to be a life approach often adopted by artists as well. Yet throughout the summer car shows draw large crowds of uneducated masses and when the local art museum hosted an exhibition entitled "the art of car" they saw some of the largest crowds they've ever seen. So can the car be considered art? If art is simply design created to illicit emotional response, then the answer is undoubtedly yes. But if art truly isn't functional, can a car still qualify?
As a whole, in the vast majority of instances, barring some prototypes and concept cars, most cars do serve the function of people mover.
But let's take a look at the elements of a car. I think we'll find that not all are practical, and if the car as a whole can't be considered "true art", there are at least parts of the car that may qualify.
In developing this consideration I borrowed heavily from the web. The pictures contained here-in are (mostly) not my property but were posted to the internet and freely available. I'm not making anything on these blogs so hopefully no photographer takes offense at my use of their shots. If you are offended, please leave a comment stating your dissatisfaction. Your dissatisfaction will be noted. If you complain hard enough I might even take your photo down. I doubt the 10 family members that dutifully read my posts will miss them!
Plagiarism discussion over, back to cars as art.
First, let's consider the basic shape. One of the key design elements is the shape. If a shape wasn't placed over the mechanicals, we'd all drive cars that look like the racers at Tillamook Oregon's famous Pig 'n' Ford races.
Now we're used to car shapes that are designed to for efficiency. That wasn't always the case. There was a time when cars were designed mainly for aesthetics, with air flow efficiency a distant second thought. A famous example is the Shelby/AC Cobra. The original AC, on which the Shelby Cobra body was based, was designed to the aesthetic preferences of 50's England. The Shelby racing team found it was horrible aerodynamically and if they were to have any chance of beating the Ferrari's on the circuits with longer straights, such as the Le Mans circuit, they'd need a new body.
The Shelby Daytona was born, which incorporated the Cobra's underpinnings but was designed to beat the wind resistance and give Shelby's more speed on long straights. Now if the original Cobra/AC wasn't designed to be aerodynamic, wouldn't that mean it's body was simply designed to be aesthetically pleasing, therefore making it a study in art?
Often designers add body style design that serves no functional purpose other than to add the designer's personal flair. One might say, it's the designer's "artistic flair" coming through. A famous example is the "double bubble" design associated with many Zagato designs. Specials from Fiats to Aston Martins wore the double humps.
Zagato Bodied Fiat Abarth
Another great styling example that can only be considered art, is that Lamborghini incorporated their logo, the bull, into the shape of their Muira car. When you open the doors, the head of a bull is clearly seen.
Lamborghini Miura As previously mentioned, one might argue concept cars could fall into the same consideration as art because they are often designed to be looked at, with little to no drive-ability. Their designed function is to be aesthetically pleasing at motor shows, not to be a people carrier.
1959 Cadillac Concept Car
1954 Buick Concept Car
1970 Lancia Bertone Concept
In addition to concept cars, hardcore customizers have been designing cars that were mainly for aesthetics since the turn of the century. A great example is the Brooke Swan Car from India. The only thing that disqualifies the swan on this car from being true art, is that the beak of the swan was designed to blow steam on dirty peasants that dared to block it's path. The car caused such havoc it was barred from the road. Don't we all occasionally want a steam gun mounted to the front of our car for those "peasants"?
Swan Car
Almost as crazy were the creations of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth in the 60s. Beyond his famous rat fink models he created real cars as well, almost equally as bizarre.
An interesting note, Ed Roth fell away from the car scene when he joined the Hell's Angels. He hated his experience and quit. The Hell's Angels sent thugs to beat on him a little not realizing he was a black belt. The Angels were beat upon but they say Ed Roth lived in fear of the Angels from that time on and his art lacked it's fun, almost childish vibe, from that point forward. The Hell's Angels have been and continue to be bad news. Don't buy into their toy drives, that's not what they represent. The last thing on earth you should do is desire to emulate them. I'm so tired of yuppies buying Harley's and wearing leathers because they think they're being rebels; they're emulating life destroyers. Not cool.
Anyway, again, back to cars.
Customizing like Ed Roth isn't dead though. My wife and I were recently at Moon Speed Shop in L.A. where we got to check out Beatnik and talk with the designer. What a cool car!
And while we're looking at the exterior of cars, let's discuss paint jobs. Now paint does have the function of covering the metal to prevent rust, so let's consider base coats functional. The embellishments laid over that base paint should be considered expressions in art because they no longer function as rust inhibitors.
A great example is the famous, and now 60 years later much overdone, flame job affectionately dubbed "crab claws". But at the time the below picture was taken, they were a cool expression in art.
Another great example, originally popularized in the 50s, is pinstripping. Here's a shot of the famous Von Dutch applying his marks. How the name Von Dutch moved from an association to pinstriping to an association with a brand rich kids wear is utterly beyond me.
Even Andy Warhol got into embellishing cars. Here's the BMW M1 he painted.
Warhol M1
And just as art can be considered poor quality, the same can be said of the embellishments placed on cars. Consider the bizarre paint job on my commuter car. The only way those embellishment could be considered displayable art is if a thousand years passes and someone digs the side panel up and decides to display them on their wall as ancient artifacts.
Let's move past paint embellishments though and talk about chrome and emblems. Chrome and emblems are art because they serve no purpose other than to increase the visual aesthetics of a car.
First let's consider one of the most iconic emblems of all time, the prancing horse of Ferrari. A WW1 Italian ace's family crest that he painted on the side of his planes for luck. He died and his family later asked Mr. Ferrari to place the symbol as good luck on his racing cars (interestingly at that time he was actually managing Alfa's racing team and the prancing horse can be found on some early Alfas). Perhaps a bad omen of things to come, because for a period of time Ferrari was famous for losing racing drivers in accidents. But regardless, the prancing horse has become one of the most iconic automotive industry emblems.
Prancing Horse Alfa Romeo
Ferrari
Or if you're more into American cars, how about the iconic chrome embellishments of the 50's Chevys? These pieces of chrome instantly bring to mind golden visions of milk shakes, drive-ins, hot rods, rock and roll, etc. If a single piece of embellishment can cause such emotive response, how can it not be considered art?
1957 Chevy Bell Air
The 57 Chevy also incorporated another piece that was simply for aesthetics. Note the hubcaps on the wheel. They resemble a knock-off nut, but in truth the it's simply a cap for aesthetics. The '57 Chevy's hubcaps serve no purpose. To this day, hubcaps are still used as aesthetic embellishment's, sometimes with disastrously distasteful results. If you can buy it at Auto Zone or WallMart, the chances are it's in poor taste. Should you find yourself in front of a car shaped like a swan, be prepared for a steam bath.
The chrome from the 50's also reflected a culture that was just entering the space age with great anticipation. Jet's and Rocket's were commonly incorporated into automotive design during the 50's.
1956 Chevy Hood Emblem
Rocket 88
Some of these chrome ornaments even chance into the art designation of statue. Consider the famous Spirit of Ecstasy or The Archer. Both magnificent statue miniatures that graced the hood of early 20th century cars.
Spirit of Ecstasy
The Archer
The luxury cars that these early hood emblems adorned often incorporated a lot of chrome, beautiful shape, and other artistic touches that make these cars magnificent to look upon.
Auburn Boattail Speedster
If you opened the door you'd see other examples of embellishment without function. Take for example doors skinned with ostrich skin as found in the Bugatti Atlantic.
Even under the hood one can find examples of embellishment without function. For example, valve covers often incorporate artistic touches.
So I make the case that although car may have the purpose of being functional, many of it's design elements can include truly artistic touches. As those pieces are incorporated into what the car becomes as a sum of the whole, the car itself may become an element of art. The chances are that if you read to this point, you already agreed with me, but if you really were researching this topic I urge you to consider the automobile as art if it incorporates some of the elements discussed above.
After all, a lot of what I posted pictures of above is easily distinguishable as much more pleasing to the eye than the Ford Taurus mobile the Seattle Art Museum had in it's lobby the last time my wife and I walked through. If a hanging Taurus can be art, so can a beautifully designed Ferrari.
Leave some feedback. Let me know what you think. There's a section down below for comments!
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