“Get into the left lane and aim high, but keep one eye on the rear view mirror for the black and whites. Art cars are a grass roots movement. Change your vehicle, improve it, personalize it and make your own statement with it so that you can once again become one with it. Art cars are an expression of your freedom and above all, of the God-given American right to be yourself and flaunt it on the highways and byways of America.”
We have been meaning to check out the ‘garage mahal’ for almost the whole time we’ve lived here – I kid you not. However, it’s in that ‘trendy’ part of town that the hubby deems to cool for him to frequent (LOL!) where the roads are crap and parking is crappier.
That said, when my girlfriend Courtney came to town in August, I wanted to take her along to have a nosy – it’s a free, quirky and kitschy thing to do here in Houston, and, my ‘147 Things to do in Houston’ book, has it listed – I’m not sure what that has to do with the price of milk, but, go check out this museum. DO IT!
“But Las!” I hear you cry, “What IS an art car?”
From their website: An art car is a motor-driven vehicle which a car artist alters in such a way as to suit his own aesthetic. You can check out the post right here to know more. In other words, the artist either adds or subtracts materials of his own choosing to or from the factory model or he may renovate an earlier model to revive a beauty and stlyle that once was. The result is a vehicle which conveys new meaning through design, mechanical or structural changes, renovation, and/or the addition of new images, symbols or collage elements.
The content and meaning of these changes vary with each art car and may express either political, social, personal or purely decorative objectives. All art cars are subversive and have in common the transformation of the vehicle from a factory-made commodity into a personal statement or expression.
It’s not a phenomenon that is specific to the USA, art cars can be found all over the world. But, every month, right here in Houston, four or five of these amazing artistic creations can be found, right here at the Art Car museum. The cars on display change each month, and, once a year – they have a huge parade, where the cars are driven around the streets of Houston.
Before you get to the cars on display, there’s a couple of small art exhibits for you to ponder. I’m not sure if these change too, but they were definitely worth a glance.
“Often considered the ‘Art Car Capital’, Houston has the largest number of art cars of any city. Art cars are fine art essentially free of the conventions and contradictions of the marketplace and the art world. The Museum’s distinctive scrap metal and chrome exterior was created by car artist David Best and provides an imaginative indication of the extraordinary constructions to be found inside. The museum’s goal is to encourage the public’s awareness of the cultural, political, economic and personal dimensions of art.”