Art Cars

An art car is a vehicle that has its appearance modified as an act of personal artistic expression. Art car subculture differs from other car subcultures which tend to focus on makes, models, or the year the car was created. Instead, art car subculture is based on the exterior creative expression of an artists mobile vehicle. Most cars are considered by their owners to be mobile sculptures. These art car artists have coined the term cartists to refer to themselves. It is not uncommon for cartists to dress in a uniform matching the theme of their decorated car. It is thought that the invention of the art car grew from the 1960s. Ken Kesey’s creation the schoolbus known as Furthur is considered to be the official first art car. Art cars have been created by well known artists from the pop art period, such as Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol. After the unrest of the 1960s the creation of art cars didn’t gain momentum again until the 1990s with help from filmmaker Harrod Blank. Blank has made 3 full-length documentary films on art cars and founded the second largest Art Car festival which takes place in the San Francisco Bay Area. Cartists go to the festival to display their creations and gain inspiration from other cartist‘s work. The Burning Man festival is another display venue for art cars. Cars from the 1920s that have been restored as artistic expressions are called flivvers. One common type of art car is called a gluey because various objects are glued onto the car's surface. Glueys can display items as small as pennies to entire sculptures which are several feet tall. Christmas sting lights and neon lights enhance an art car’s effect at night. Other creative vehicles of transportation include art bikes.