Related to cars, red typically means stop. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe is a Pinto that, despite its color, says go, or maybe Gauguin!
Last Friday, 63% of you wanted to jump on the Nice Price Jeepster train, proving that you've got a soft spot for well presented old four-bys. Today we have something different to contemplate, and as a a picture is worth a thousand words, let's picture what this Pinto is worth.
All great works of art began with a blank canvas, whether that be a literal canvas, a block of carrera marble, or a crisp piece of 60# bond clamped between unyielding roller and clacking keys of a well-worn typewriter. The tale that is told may be as expansive as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, or as intimate as a portrait painted on a grain of rice- size knows no compromise to the greatness of the achievement. The only constraint being the artist's talent and vision.
Here, the canvas was a pinto, and the creator has achieved an artistic statement that is clear to both aficionado and novice- that this is one fast pony. Any critique of this work must begin with the artist's choice of that canvas- a 1972 Ford Pinto 2-door coupe. It's unexpected and bold, and yet size and proportions speak to the purposefulness and visceral emotion of the presentation. That blown small block may be of indeterminate size, but there will be nothing indeterminate about the familiar high-pitched whine from the twin-scroll Weiland supercharger overlaying the throbbing bass beat of 8 cylinders uncorked in anger. The seller claims this to be a street performer, but its potential cacophony, locker rearend, and 8-PSI slicks indicates that the more appropriate venue would be one fronted by a staging light, and with a quarter mile of smooth asphalt beyond.
It's always rewarding to discover an artist before they become well-known, allowing devotees to purchase works while the prices are still unsullied by fame. This work, by an as-yet unknown creator, is offered at $19,000, and while that may seem too much for something you would hang on your wall and contemplate over a snifter of brandy, what about something that's more an example of performance art? Do you vote Nice Price for this potentially precious pinto? Or does that nineteen grand asking price send you to both Bob Ross, and the Crack Pipe?
You decide!
Baltimore Craigslist, or go here if the ad gets its NEA grant pulled. Thanks to Tom Fitzgerald for the tip.
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