Jalopnik: Art/Illustrations

Design Exhibit Explores Detroit's Glory Days

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 07:15:10 EDT

If you find yourself in Louisville, Kentucky within drop-in distance from the Visual Art Association's Water Tower building — it's the one that looks like a lighthouse — go there. As the NY Times's car-design beatwalker Phil Patton reports, a current exhibition offers a glimpse inside Detroit's studios during the we-can-do-anything days when the Buick Riviera, Pontiac GTO Judge and Chevy Chevelle were on the drawing board. It's an amazing retrospective, considering most early designs were closely guarded and most destroyed before anyone could stash them away for posterity. Apparently, some designers were better than others at selling their creations to the higher-ups, often by using devices like snow falling on a would-be Cadillac to add context. The guy who drew the Aztec must have studied under one of those guys. [NYT (reg. req.)]

Porsche 959 Decals!

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 19:00:00 EDT

The poor guy who created this page had no idea that one couldn't create one's own repro decals by scanning them and printing them out. It reminds us of being a youngster and finding out that 150dpi RGB images were no good for four-color, on-press printing. What's more, he's optimistic in thinking that copying a decal set by a vector artist will cost him a mere fifty samoleons. Nevertheless, the man does have a great archive of '80s-era R/C car decal sheets. Our favorite is the one from Tamiya's wonderful 959 kit. We kind of want to make our own life-size Rothmans water-slip decals and post them on every transparent surface within a three-block radius. [Vintage R/C Web]

Coop Takes a Hooptyride

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 19:00:00 EDT

Given that the august Mister Jalopy hasn't seen fit to update his marvelous catalogue of wonderous things in over a month, Coop hopped in his new Falcon (the wagon is sadly still in a lawyer-induced state of disrepair) and went to check out the goings on at Hooptyrides, Inc. Also, one post down, he details an encounter with David Lee Roth and Alex Van Halen! Dare we say it? It's good to be the Coop. [Positive Ape Index]

Citroën Blueprint Drawings!

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 19:30:00 EDT

Now here's a place where a dork could get lost for hours. It's a goldmine of blueprint-type drawings of all manner of vehicles. We're especially crushed out on the Citroën section, which features everything from the fabulous FAF Break to the saintly SM. Our inner Franco-dweeb is twitching right now; our irises are spinning like three-lug wheels on the autoroute with a hot-ass tailwind blowing in from North Africa.

Citroën [The-Blueprints.com]

Related:
The Goddess of Tenth Street [Internal]

¡Los Yellow Bastardos!

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 22:45:00 EDT

Yeah, okay, fine, our Spanish is about as reliable as our uterus. Maybe a little better. Curse these barely-vestigal ovaries! Regardless, and more to the point, some people like yellow cars. Our pal Zerin is one, having just shelled out for a bright screaming new TT S-Line (and yes, ladies, he's available). We like yellow here and there. We used to have a creme-yellow living room back in Benicia. But in our graphic design days, straight yellow ink with anywhere from 5 to 10 percent red quotient really made stuff pop off the page when we were in a hurry to do something, anything. So we appreciate yellow's virtue. So, apparently, does the man who put together this flickr group. – Davey G. Johnson

Yellow Car [flickr]

Guy Overfelt's Burnouts

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 15:15:00 EDT

The folks at Dunderdon, Swedish makers of pricey workwear, have taken an interest in our boy Guy Overfelt, a conceptual artist whose work over the last few years has revolved around his '77 Trans Am. Said TA is now full of tubes to structurally reinforce its chassis, as well as protect Mr. Overfelt on the dragstrip. It's also chock full of four-hundred-fifty-five inches of cubic Poncho goodness, after Guy got tired of blowing up Olds motors. Here he describes the thought process behind pulling burnouts on paper and linen, but intentionally neglects to give us the secret sauce behind actually doing it. Hey, an artist's gotta make a living somehow... [Note, the above video is obviously pre-back-half.] – Davey G. Johnson

Made in Half a Second: The Guy Overfelt Interview [Dunderdon]

Related:
The Art of the Trans Am [Internal]

Mazda Miata Photochop Madness

Mike Bumbeck — Thu, 31 May 2007 14:00:00 EDT

A precarious mix of unemployment, Mazda Miatas, and photoshop could produce many things. A man named Moe took these three conditions and created a borderline disturbing but also funny collection of homemade chops. He's got everything from an Army issue Miata to a Zoom Zoom Zamboni. Extensive televison viewing seems to have also played a role. Tom Selleck and Wonder Woman are in there, but sadly there is no Columbo Miata. – Mike Bumbeck

Miata + Photoshop = Fun! [moesrealm.com]

Yes, Please Lick the Plug: Coop's 78-Foot Painting

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 21 May 2007 20:00:00 EDT

Coop is not a man to be understimated. He not only paints pictures just shy of 80 feet, they also happen to feature spark-plug-licking females illustrated in his inimitable, sexy style. Pop by his flickr page and check out the genesis of this bechwheemouth of rad-ass art. Also, check out his Kimberly Kane stuff, which is NSFW, mostly, but hot damn we wanna hang out with that girl. – Davey G. Johnson

Parts With Appeal Revisited [Positive Ape Index]

Related:
Paintbloggin' Along With Coop! [Internal]

Coop Felled by Lawyer!

Davey G. Johnson — Tue, 08 May 2007 14:00:00 EDT

Poor Coop. His recently-purchased Ford Falcon wagon was uncerimoniously crumped by a legal eagle sipping a caffeinated beverage and making an illegal left turn. Mister Cooper's laid up with a busted leg and the front end of his fresh garage-saling ride is ailing in a way that isn't just gonna buff right out. We wish the artist a speedy recovery and the lawyer a festering boil right in the middle of his forehead for mangling such a fine automobile and injuring one of our favorite artists. – Davey G. Johnson

OUCH! [Positive Ape Index]

Related:
He Brakes for Nobody: Coop's New Wheels [Internal]

Uberraschung! Du Bist Tot! Hypermagnified Roadkill

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 20:00:00 EST

Chris Paukert, often simply referred to as "The Exclaimer," hipped us to this bit of oddball morbidity over at Deutschland's der Spiegel. It's a collection of highly-magnified photographs of insects who met their end courtesy of a motor vehicle. Good fodder for the next anti-car PETA campaign too, we suppose. – Davey G. Johnson

Fotoserie "Scheibenkleister": T dliche Verkehrsunf lle [Spiegel Online]

Related:
Claus Ettenberger, Teutonic Butterfly Sadist [Internal]

The Future is Then: Coop on Decals

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:00:00 EST

Pal-O-Tha Jalop Mike LaVella once said, "For some reason, and I'm not exactly sure why, American Culture seemed to peak around 1963." We'd be more likely to say '68, but we do understand LaVella's argument for '63. Regardless, the 1960s were simply an incredible time for design and popular art in this country; we grew up with its leftover detrius emblazoned on our brain, much in the same way you'll see a 14-year-old kid wearing a Black Flag or Metal Up Your Ass t-shirt today. Coop dug up this '60s-vintage decal sheet and comments, "I want these images tattooed on the inside of my eyelids." Click over for more of the man's musings on the fantastic. – Davey G. Johnson

We Are Shaped and Fashioned by What We Love [Positive Ape Index]

22 Pomona Avenue: Horrific Hot Rod

Davey G. Johnson — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 19:45:00 EST

The builder left alone. His mind was blank. He needed time to sleep; to get the memories from his mind. This much is obvious, but you really just have to go look for yourself. The only thing we could possibly say about this hot rod pickup from the Grand National Roadster Show that Coop didn't is that if there is any justice in this world, Derek Riggs should be allowed to sue over it. Many times over. And repeatedly. And one more time for good measure. Plus, once more with feeling. Poor little primered child of the damned. Poor little primered child of the damned. – Davey G. Johnson

2007 Grand National Roadster Show: Holy Crap! [Positive Ape Index]

Related:
Coop Takes a Holiday Motor Excursion [Internal]

Excelsior! A Profile in Obsessively-Awesome Geekery

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 15:00:00 EST

Wow and yikes. Paul Brodie's 1919 Excelsior OHC replibike project is absolutely well...crap, we don't just have the words. Suffice to say, we just killed an hour absolutely rapt watching the prototype come together. Starting with a few photographs (none of which feature the left-hand side of the motorcycle), Brodie made use of everything he could get his hands on to create a motorcycle as authentic as possible (with a few modern upgrades like newer metal alloys).

There's Bondo. There's aluminum, und ja, there is even shteel. There's milling! There's lathing! There's casting! There're even antique roller cam followers! While the story covers the construction of the non-running prototype, Brodie plans to have seven of the runners for sale at 100k each, which given the sizable investment of time he's put in, actually seems reasonable. And he plans to take one to Bonneville. This man is our latest hero. – Davey G. Johnson

Excelsior Project [Flashback Fabrications via The Jockey Journal]

Related:
Coop Might Build Electric Motorcycle, Maybe [Internal]

Old Crow Belly Tanker Gets Engine Turned

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 21:30:00 EST

For those of you who happen to be fans of the Bandit's dashboard or '50s diner countertops and/or trim, engine turning — aside from any weird fetishes you may have that we'd probably rather not know of — is likely the reason. It's simple in concept, really. Just a gritty pad on a mill laid down repeatedly. Of course, to do it well, it helps to spend hours throwing away and screwing up material. Anyway, the back half of Bobby Greene's bellytanker canopy was just subjected to the treatment and then emblazond with the Coop-drawn Old Crow logo. Does it get much manlier? We just checked our pants. It is manlier than us, that is for sure. – Davey G. Johnson

Belly Tanker Livery Complete! [Positive Ape Index]

Related:
More Coop From El Mirage [Internal]

What Would Toulouse-Lautrec Drive?

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:15:00 EST

Lately, we've been rather consumed with the Silver Jews' "Punks in the Beerlight," a song that drops a totally sensical nonsensical non-sequitur in the form of diminutive French painter and poster artist Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec. Considering he died in 1901, there wasn't a vast vehicular choice available to him. But were the man alive today, loaded with the cash that's changed hands over his art since his demise, what would dear Henri drive? – Davey G. Johnson

Photochopped Competizione 8C Competizione

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 01:15:00 EST

The 0-60s hipped us to this Photochop of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione in race trim. If indeed Alfa decides that this car should turn wheels in anger, we hope the resultant racing vehicle doesn't look like this. – Davey G. Johnson

Virtual Cars [Digimods via 0-60]

If Huey P. Newton Ran a Tire Shop

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 20:15:00 EST

We are officially fresh the fuck out of words. [Thanks to CTE for the tip.] – Davey G. Johnson

The One Big World [Gallerie Loevenbruck]

Related:
Australian Sculptor Fiddles With Car Bits [Internal]

Australian Sculptor Fiddles With Car Bits

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 14:00:00 EDT

Daniel Clammett, a New South Wales sculptor and bodyman, got his start due to nearly failing an art class. As a last-ditch measure to obtain a passing grade, he welded up some kind of monster in his dad's body shop, and Bob's your uncle, the piece sold. He only uses dented-beyond-repair panels in his pieces, saying "I do believe that if I were to go and pull a new bonnet off a car and work with it, well for me that is sacrilege, that's a good part, you don't mess with a good part." But via his art, the bad parts become good parts again. And thus is the circle of life completed. Or something. – Davey G. Johnson

His art is a car wreck [ABC, Australia]

The Cars! They're Mating!

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 16:00:00 EDT

A little obscene Photochop action can brighten (or ruin) anyone's day. As Chris Bangle says, we're in the Five-Axis Era now, but these Photochoppers seem to hew more to the Five-Axes-and-a-Tub-of-Digital-Bondo school of thought. Click through and be at turns repulsed and amazed.

Mate A Car [Worth1000 via Motorpasion]

Jam Econo, Von Dutch-Style: '65 Ford Van Up for Auction

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 15:00:00 EDT

Von Dutch, even in death, has been sand in the Vaseline of the estabilshment, whether said establishment was mainstream culture of the 1950s and '60s or the hot rod hegemony of today due to the use of his logotype on clothing worn by people Dutch most likely would never have associated with. But, for all his legendary abrasiveness, the man did some wicked-cool shit. Take, for example, this 1965 Ford Econoline, converted by the erstwhile Kenneth Howard for his own personal use while he worked at Movie World in Buena Park, CA. He gutted the interior, Dutched the hell out of the exterior, and installed a transparent eyeball so his dog could see out. It's on eBay. Could be yours. [Thanks to Brian for the tip.]

Original Von Dutch Utility Wagon From Movie World [eBay]

Related:
LaVella Hits the Brucker Collection Auction [Internal]

Ed Roth's Mighty Honda Civic on eBay

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:30:00 EDT

Back when we were in our teens, some friends of ours had a band called Stickman Lincoln, an oddly-instrumented semi-avant pop group, that in our estimation, was the best Sacramento band you've never heard of. And they had an official vehicle: guitarist/violinist Damian Sol's Datsun 810 wagon. Random appendages were added, the bumpers were caution-striped. One door was painted in a rough approximation of a Sacramento County Sheriff's vehicle's livery. But honestly, both in legend and execution, the bullet-hole-and-bondo-ridden 810 can't hold a candle to Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's hand-lettered Honda Civic.

During his self-imposed exile from the custom car world, he drove this Civic while working as a sign-painter at Knott's Berry Farm, as well as on subsequent car-show tours with then up-and-coming Kustom Kulture artist Von Franco. This is the best non-fiberglass car that Roth ever owned by our estimation, and we would happily commute in it if we had a commute. But at this point, it would probably be better left to rest and be admired in our garagelet. What's more, unlike the Druid Princess, it would actually fit in there. Bidding starts this afternoon at 4:30PM PDT with a reserve. Auction # 300006134471.

Related:
LaVella Hits the Brucker Collection Auction [Internal]

Together on the Sand: Sculptured GP Cars at Goodwood

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 21:30:00 EDT

Dear Denton. You are from England. We like cars. This is a match made in heaven. Please buy us a Mini and send us to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. And while there, were can take pictures of renowned sand sculptor Andrew Baynes at work, creating 1:1 replicas of ten of the last century's greats Grand Prix cars — one for each decade — while historic iron wends its way up the hill. Criminy. We're simultaneously feeling like a small child and a lecherous old man. Then again, that combo's probably what draws people to auto journalism in the first place.

The Century's finest Grands Prix cars make a Sand Pit Stop at the Goodwood Festival of Speed [Easier.com]

Plaintbloggin' Along With Coop!

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 15:00:00 EDT

Do you like watching Coop make things? We like watching Coop make things because Coop makes things that we like. So if you like watching Coop make things that we like, you can click over and check out his latest paintblog. On the wings of Goodyear!

Paintblogging... Sorta... [Positive Ape Index]

Related:
Paintblogging With Coop! [Internal]

No Pocky for Kitty: Coop's Japanblogging in One Handy Package!

Davey G. Johnson — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 02:51:16 EDT

The man we often refer to as Coop just got back from the islands of the Rising Sun, and no, the fool didn't bring us a JDM right-hand-drive Starion A6M. But he sure did take a lot of pictures. So if you, like us, are a fan of the mighty Mister Cooper, click over and check it out. We've provided handy links for your convenience.

Japanblogging; More Japanblogging; Yet Another Japanblog; Still More Japanblogging; Yep; Uh huh; You Got It; Mmm-hm; Fin! [Positive Ape Index]

Look What Zaha (Ha)did: Architect Debuts Concept Car

Mike Spinelli — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 18:46:57 EDT

Zaha Hadid, Iraq-born architect and darling of the deconstructivist movement (you know who you are) is not exactly best known as a car designer. In fact, most gearheads would be hard pressed to pick her out of a crowded newsroom at the BBC. Regardless, she's debuting her Z-car concept at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City this weekend. While some would say architects have as much business meddling in car design as Camillo Pardo does messing with buildings, artistes will do as they do. Plus, she's designed the central building for BMW's new plant in Leipzig, Germany, which gives her requisite cred points.

[via Paper Mag]

Related:
Full Metal Ponytail: Camilo Pardo on Fashion [internal]

Aztec Mini: Anthony Wilson Strikes Back

Mike Spinelli — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 09:56:00 EDT

As Francis Bacon said, "The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery." (Mmmm, bacon.) As such, petrolheads in the UK are none too pleased with sculptor Anthony Wilson, who forms his own mysterious works from pieces of classic cars. Take, for example, "Aztec Scorpion" (pictured), one of his latest, which depicts our neighbor Mrs. Henley explaining the plight of her trampled forsythias in great detail to the postman. (We didn't even know she'd been to Heytesbury.) In this case, Wilson used the front of an old Mini Cooper, a car that's said to possess strange powers — such as being able to travel great distances, despite having no room for passengers — to enhance the mystery.

Anthony Wilson Sculpture

The Mitsubishi Starion A6M7

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 31 May 2006 15:30:27 EDT

A while back, Bumbeck told us that a friend of his asked a Mitsu bigwig why they didn't capitalize on the heritage of the Zero, one of the finest fighter planes of World War II. Yesterday, we suggested that the company needs to bring back the Starion to stave off doing the collapse in the US market, and furthermore posited that the top-spec Neo-Starion should be badged the A6M. Turns out that Andy Takakjian had already photochopped up such a beast, based on a widebody version of the Conquest's twin. We simply must have one. And who among the bosozoku wouldn't be stoked to own this car? Not a one, we imagine.

Mister Jalopy on the House

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 24 May 2006 17:00:00 EDT

Font foundries are a dime a dozen, cranking out crap like the horribly overused (and not very good) Deftone Stylus. But House, well, as is often the case, we can't put it any better than Mister Jalopy:

House owns cool. Not the cool of the 'lad magazines' but the cool that comes from diving for pennies in a 70's swimming pool of hot rods, skateboards, thrift store records, punk rock, boomboxes, schlock science fiction and custom vans.

House Industries [Hooptyrides]

More Model Sprue Wall-Hanging Action

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 19 May 2006 13:45:21 EDT

Mario from Jellio just wrote to let us know that after the success of TURBO, last year's musclecar-themed, life-size model-parts sprue, they've come up with DRIVE IN, which is based around '50s car parts. Only 100 will be cast, and at 3k a pop they're not exactly cheap, but Mario'll make you a deal via this special blog-oriented offer. Anyone who pre-orders before the piece goes live on the Jellio site gets $500 off. Now we wanna sniff some glue...

Jellio

Related:
Model Kit Wall Art [Internal]

Tool Cheescake by Petty

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 19 May 2006 00:31:01 EDT

Because we can't be the Positive Ape Index, we'll ape the Positive Ape Index and tell you to go check out the George Petty - illustrated Ridgid Tools calendar they have up over at the ASIFA - Hollywood Animation Archive Project blog. For those who don't know Petty's work, he preceded Alberto Vargas at Esquire. And well, if you don't know who Vargas is, you probably don't like women. Or art. Or arty women.

George Petty's Ridgid Tools Calendars [ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Project Blog via Positive Ape Index]

Kicksteart My Heart: Project Pumps Cardio Bass

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 19 May 2006 00:02:16 EDT

Clip this little deal to your earlobe, plug it into the HeartBeat Bass Booster, which uses Max/MSP software to trigger an audio file of a single heartbeat during each pulse of the driver's heart. With that plugged into your thumpin' system, you've got an endless supply of beats. It can even regulate the BPM of audio tracks in disco mode, turning your heart into a DJ. [Thanks to CTE for the tip.]

Pimp my Heart [We Make Money Not Art]

Related:
[Internal]

LaVella Hits the Brucker Collection Auction

Davey G. Johnson — Tue, 16 May 2006 00:27:47 EDT

Long ago, there was a magical place in Buena Park, California called MovieWorld: Cars of the Stars, owned by a pair of brothers by the name of Brucker. Ed Roth worked there. Von Dutch lived in a bus on the property, and although the museum closed in '79, the Bruckers' stored collection contained some fabulous artifacts of lowbrow art history. Our friend, mentor, and sometime-collaborator Mike LaVella of Gearhead, covered last weekend's auction of the Brucker collection and kicked us down a bit of science as he frantically readied himself for a trip to buy a suit in Hong Kong.

The auction was also held live on eBay, and according to LaVella, "A lot of it was sold to eBay people." Jay Leno (who had a proxy bidder) bought a motor from Howard Hughes' plane that was in the Brucker museum that Dutch striped.

"The guy who bought Von Dutch's pinstriping kit is Ralph Whitworth who is opening up a museum in Winnemucca, Nevada called America's Car Collection. He bought the Road Agent, the Mysterion and the Druid Princess, and bid Von Dutch's paintbox up to $270,000."

According to LaVella, though, "If you went just to buy Williams, it could've been your cleanup day." Compared to to the frenzy whipped up by Roth and Dutch's dead-icon status, Robert Williams' paintings often sold below the expected outlay. Dutch's tools, however, went for mind-boggling prices, often going for ten times their appraised rates. The action was so fast and furious that LaVella lucked out and scored Von Dutch's flip-up address book for a mere 400 bucks (although on eBay it says it sold for $475).

The LA Weekly has a great piece on why this art matters, the Brucker collection, and a fond farewell to Fausto Vitello, a patron of lowbrow art.

Dutch Auction [LA Weekly]

Related:
Fausto Vitello: RIP [Internal]

One Hundred Thousand in Car on the Wall: Lamborghini as Art

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 15 May 2006 10:04:29 EDT

We had an idea to do this, or something like it, about 20 years ago — that is, hang a Lamborghini Countach on a wall as an objet d'arte. Of course, we were (and still are) light by the two million in Newport Beach bux going into a new house for Richard Moriarity, vinyard owner, '80s party promoter and heir to a fortune derived from converting from Lima Bean fields into the modern OC. It took a 70-ton crane to lower the 1,000-pound 1974 'tach through a skylight and on to a steel-reinforced wall. The engine had been removed and turned into a really difficult-to-tune coffee table.

1974 Lamborghini Countach Wall Hanging [Italiaspeed]

Related:
Coop's Hot Wheels Box Art [internal]

Coop's Hot Wheels Box Art

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 12 May 2006 17:28:30 EDT

Even Coop knows that his frequency of posts on his Hot Wheels designs is reaching some measure of self-absorbed critical mass, but hey, we're playing into his hand, aren't we? And besides, when was the last time Satan chomping a cigar appeared on a Mattel product package?

Another Annoying Hot Wheels Post [Positive Ape Index]

Ponytail Party: Ford GT Designer Guests on Extreme Makeover

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 08 May 2006 09:19:04 EDT

There's nothing like downing a quart of H agen-Dazs while watching a five-hanky episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to get in touch with our weepy side. We weren't watching yesterday (sorry, k-hole) when Ford GT designer and pop artist Camilo "Straight out of Central Casting" Pardo appeared on the show to make-over a bedroom with one of his paintings. The Queens, NY native returned to his hometown to appear on the ABC show, which was renovating the home of a family from Lichtenstein who'd been forced to emigrate due to boredom, and had been wracked with leprosy ever since they were attacked by zombies during a camping trip in Pennsylvania. Well, it might have been that.

Related:
Camilo Pardo: The Automobile's Andy Warhol? [internal]

Making a Poster, With Coop!

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 03 May 2006 20:53:56 EDT

In We Jam Econo, Watt said something that really powerfully resonated with us upside-the-head-style: "The whole idea of Minutemen, in a lot of ways, was to make our life into art." And we know a few guys besides Watt who've truly done that: Gearhead's Mike LaVella is one, and Coop is another. He's managed to turn his teenage cartoon/sci-fi/hot-rod fantasies into his world, and well, sometimes we get a little jealous of Mister Cooper's vision and abilities. And the fact that he's got his own Hot Wheels now. Here he gets all Bob Ross on the process of making the screenprint poster for the Hot Wheels Collectors Show in Japan, where he'll stand as the Satano-Hot-Rod-Punk-Rock Coop of honor.

More Hot Wheels! [Positive Ape Index]

Related:
More Coop [Internal]

Junkpile: Photographic Spiels of Forgotten Cars

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 17:14:33 EDT

"I kicked the shelf at the junkpile, one big crash/Sluggo's collection of broken glass/I said, 'Every time I take my shoes off/Someone's gotta come along and try them on'/You know what I mean/It could've been such a wonderful year/I wonder what went wrong?

-Aaron Cometbus

Aaron Cometbus, of Crimpshrine, Pinhead Gunpowder, Cleveland Bound Death Sentence, and Cometbus fanzine fame, may well be one of the greatest living American writers. And reader Curtis just posted a gallery of rad shots he took in a junkyard. Since we're so not gonna post on Brian Baker's fall from grace, we swapped "yard" for "pile" and rocked the Pinhead instead. Now go buy their entire discography, check out Curtis' pix, and leave us in peace. Danke.

Junkyard [Coitustrek]

Parts Art: BMW Sponsors Sculpture Project

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 09:10:01 EDT

Those high-minded conceptualists in the Vehicle Design program at the Royal College of Art took a break from sketching dashboard binnacles to produce a string of artworks using only BMW parts for inspiration. From 14 entries, submitted as designs, a panel of judges selected five, which were subsequently realized with help from RCA's Sculpture school. One, Dynamism of a Wishbone uses suspension components to comprise a wall hanging, while another, dubbed The Screw is, quite literally, a screw mounted in a transparent plinth. (Sadly, no one rendered the iDrive knob as a beach hat.) The five winning artworks were exhibited at the College and will make rounds at selected BMW dealerships in the UK this year.

The Art of Genuine BMW Parts [BMW UK]

Coop Designs Hot Wheels!

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 17:44:42 EDT

We've been a fan of Coop's art since we were a teenager. We've had the pleasure of getting to know the guy over the last few months, and we were pleasantly surprised at the similarity in our attitudes. The guy knows how to build a car, has a very similar fine-art technique to ours (although he's got way more technical skill than we do) and is a damn fine writer. We say this simply because we've met many people we've admired from afar over the years and were sorely disappointed. Not so with Chris Cooper. And now he's fulfilled a lifelong dream — designing a pair of Hot Wheels Mercs. Good onya, Coop. If anyone deserves it, you do.

HOT WHEELS! [Positive Ape Index]

Related:
Coop on Tools [Internal]

Benzamino Technical: EU Plus USA Plus 3rd World Equals Wicked-Awesome

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 00:54:06 EDT

Dudes sporting Swarovski-crystal-inlaid emblems that denote their wheel size are not redefining ballerism. Let's take the hoser who cut us off this morning as an example. He basically sucked. Looked like an idiot, drove like an idiot, accessorized his Yukon like an idiot. Joep van Lieshout, on the other hand, knows how to customize and accessorize like a mofo with an ass aflame. He put together a Mercedes-Benz pickup conversion with a 57mm cannon mounted in the bed and proceeded to declare an autonomous, self-governed zone 'round his Rotterdam studio while still pulling government grants. This man is our new hero. [Thanks to Greg for the tip.]

Mercedes [Migros Museum]

Related:
Party 'Til You Puke: Another Benzamino! [Internal]