This brand new 2nd edition of "Art Cars," features 43 additional photos, a completely new chapter of 16 pages, and the Camera Van on the cover. Published in April 2007 by Blank Books, this is the most complete and contemporary book on this vital art form. Author & Photographer Harrod Blank, offers a guided tour of these visionary artists and their captivating creations, along with their inspiring stories, colorful photography, and a how-to section full of tips on creating your own Art Car! Appropriate for all ages. (8.5" X 11", 160 pages, 380 photos) "Recommended for all public libraries and academic folk art collections" - Library Journal
--This text refers to an alternate
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Wearing his passion for this movable art on his sleeve, Blank elaborates on the odd and celebratory beauty of the art car in this sequel to his 1993 Wild Wheels. These highly individual vehicles have been modified by everything from paint (as with Emily Duffy's mod Mondrian Mobile) to corks (as with Jan Elfman's relatively subtle Cork Car) to fiberglassed papier-mƒch‚ (as with Julian Stock's striking, sculptural Skull Truck). Blank, whose second art car, the Camera Van, records the reactions of people in the street, offers color photographs of each car and its owner next to short profiles that get at the creative, quirky, and sometimes egomaniacal impulses at work. He also includes a section on bikes and motorcycles and a short how-to section and resources in the back. Over 100 creations are pictured throughout. Blank has been instrumental in promoting the concept of the art car as a legitimate folk art form, and these images could convince even the most stoic skeptics to give it a go with their own wheels. Highly recommended for academic folk art collections and for all public libraries. Rebecca Miller, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Back Cover
Have you ever seen a truck with 1,480 spoons riveted onto it, a car with a working waterfall, or a motorcycle that resembles a hamburger? Well-known author, filmmaker, and art car visionary Harrod Blank takes you on a tour of more than 100 fantastic vehicles that have been turned into genuine works of art as intriguing as they are striking. Are they symbols of personal freedom, rebellious inventions, or fantasies made intoreality. Pore over the more than 300 lavish photographs as you learn the fascinating stories of the artists behind the designs.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
Harrod Blank Biography
Born February 4, 1963, Harrod Blank is a California native who grew up in the Bonny Doon Mountains of Santa Cruz where he attended high school and college. In 1989 he moved to Berkeley, where he currently lives part time.
When Harrod Blank first realized that his '65 VW Beetle could be treated as a canvas, the result was "Oh My God!". Painted like a beach ball with a bumper of plastic fruit & rubber chickens, a chalkboard on back and a TV on the roof, the car was the catalyst for his remarkable career.
Initially, Blank thought he was the only one in the world with an Art Car, and at times felt quite alienated. This would change, as he gradually learned from supporters that there were other such cars, spread out across the country. Drawing from what he had learned from his father, filmmaker Les Blank, and the BA in Theater Arts/Film he earned at UC Santa Cruz in 1986, Blank began photographing other Art Cars. Subsequently, he raised money through private investors and took out loans as needed to finance the 64-minute documentary he dreamed of making: Wild Wheels.
To his credit, over 55 million people worldwide have now seen the film. Blank initially distributed Wild Wheels, featuring 46 Art Cars and their respective artists, by driving "Oh My God!" with the film to 50 cities across the country. Publicity from the tour gained the interest of PBS, which broadcast the film repeatedly as a National Special in 1993. The following year, Blank's photography was featured in a companion book, Wild Wheels (Pomegranate, 1994; Blank Books, 2001), which was named "Best Book for Young Adults" by the American Library Association.
Blending his passion for Art Cars and his love of photography, Blank was inspired by a dream to attach 1,705 cameras to a 1972 Dodge van. Cleverly hiding ten working cameras among the rest, Blank had finally found a way to capture on film the public's candid expressions of awe and delight. In 1995, Blank drove the "Camera Van" to New York City for its official "debut" and shot over 5,000 photographs for a photography exhibit, "I've Got A Vision."
In 1995, still enthusiastic about the beauty and power of Art Cars, Blank began production of a feature-length sequel to Wild Wheels. A short version of the film (Driving the Dream, 29 mins.) was broadcast on TBS's National Geographic Explorer in October 1997 to help raise money for the epic feature length film Automorphosis which is currently in release. Thirteen years in the making, Automorphosis is considered Harrod's life's work up to this point.
Blank made his third Art Car in 1998, an interactive mariachi-themed music mobile called "Pico De Gallo," later unveiled in his new book, Art Cars: the Cars, the Artists, the Obsession, the Craft (Lark Books, 2002, Blank Books 2007). Gene Shalet heralded the book on the Today Show as his favorite holiday gift suggestion. The Petersen Automotive Museum hosted a major exhibition of Art Cars in Spring 2003, of which Harrod Blank was Guest Curator.
Blank's mother Gail Perrin Blank, an erotic ceramist, died in February 2005 which prompted a major career change. In August of 2005, Blank embarked upon the making of a visionary center for the arts in Douglas Arizona on the border of Mexico called Rancho Del Arte. This bilingual center will feature arts above ground and below, and will include Art Car World, a museum dedicated to Art Cars, the Ceramic Cafe integrated with ceramic arts and mosaics, Highway Cinema, an outdoor theater specializing in independent Mexican and American films, and an underground system of caves featuring shrines to the dead.
Not only will the center be a place for art to be created and viewed, but it will be a work of art in itself. The gallery space will be opening in the Spring, 2012, the residencies in the Spring of 2014 and the other elements by the end of 2017.
Currently Blank is releasing Automorphosis, and is editing on Burning Man: the Movie, a documentary film Thirteen years in the making about the radical arts festival.
Born February 4, 1963, Harrod Blank is a California native who grew up in the Bonny Doon Mountains of Santa Cruz where he attended high school and college. In 1989 he moved to Berkeley, where he currently lives part time.
When Harrod Blank first realized that his '65 VW Beetle could be treated as a canvas, the result was "Oh My God!". Painted like a beach ball with a bumper of plastic fruit & rubber chickens, a chalkboard on back and a TV on the roof, the car was the catalyst for his remarkable career.
Initially, Blank thought he was the only one in the world with an Art Car, and at times felt quite alienated. This would change, as he gradually learned from supporters that there were other such cars, spread out across the country. Drawing from what he had learned from his father, filmmaker Les Blank, and the BA in Theater Arts/Film he earned at UC Santa Cruz in 1986, Blank began photographing other Art Cars. Subsequently, he raised money through private investors and took out loans as needed to finance the 64-minute documentary he dreamed of making: Wild Wheels.
To his credit, over 55 million people worldwide have now seen the film. Blank initially distributed Wild Wheels, featuring 46 Art Cars and their respective artists, by driving "Oh My God!" with the film to 50 cities across the country. Publicity from the tour gained the interest of PBS, which broadcast the film repeatedly as a National Special in 1993. The following year, Blank's photography was featured in a companion book, Wild Wheels (Pomegranate, 1994; Blank Books, 2001), which was named "Best Book for Young Adults" by the American Library Association.
Blending his passion for Art Cars and his love of photography, Blank was inspired by a dream to attach 1,705 cameras to a 1972 Dodge van. Cleverly hiding ten working cameras among the rest, Blank had finally found a way to capture on film the public's candid expressions of awe and delight. In 1995, Blank drove the "Camera Van" to New York City for its official "debut" and shot over 5,000 photographs for a photography exhibit, "I've Got A Vision."
In 1995, still enthusiastic about the beauty and power of Art Cars, Blank began production of a feature-length sequel to Wild Wheels. A short version of the film (Driving the Dream, 29 mins.) was broadcast on TBS's National Geographic Explorer in October 1997 to help raise money for the epic feature length film Automorphosis which is currently in release. Thirteen years in the making, Automorphosis is considered Harrod's life's work up to this point.
Blank made his third Art Car in 1998, an interactive mariachi-themed music mobile called "Pico De Gallo," later unveiled in his new book, Art Cars: the Cars, the Artists, the Obsession, the Craft (Lark Books, 2002, Blank Books 2007). Gene Shalet heralded the book on the Today Show as his favorite holiday gift suggestion. The Petersen Automotive Museum hosted a major exhibition of Art Cars in Spring 2003, of which Harrod Blank was Guest Curator.
Blank's mother Gail Perrin Blank, an erotic ceramist, died in February 2005 which prompted a major career change. In August of 2005, Blank embarked upon the making of a visionary center for the arts in Douglas Arizona on the border of Mexico called Rancho Del Arte. This bilingual center will feature arts above ground and below, and will include Art Car World, a museum dedicated to Art Cars, the Ceramic Cafe integrated with ceramic arts and mosaics, Highway Cinema, an outdoor theater specializing in independent Mexican and American films, and an underground system of caves featuring shrines to the dead.
Not only will the center be a place for art to be created and viewed, but it will be a work of art in itself. The gallery space will be opening in the Spring, 2012, the residencies in the Spring of 2014 and the other elements by the end of 2017.
Currently Blank is releasing Automorphosis, and is editing on Burning Man: the Movie, a documentary film Thirteen years in the making about the radical arts festival.
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This guy is my muse!,
By T. Adams (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Art Cars: The Cars, the Artists, the Obsession, the Craft (Paperback)
I read Harrod's first book after seeing some art cars at The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. After that, the seeds were planted! In a few months I had made my first art car. I finally got to meet Harrod and get a copy of Art Cars when he appeared with several of us exhibiting our creations at Artscape. It was fun to ooh and aah over pictures of many other art car folks in this book who have become good friends of mine in the past few years. Art Cars will inspire you to go out RIGHT NOW and start decorating your vehicle!
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The most incredibly creative book I have ever read!,
By steven zola (sharon, ma. United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Art Cars: The Cars, the Artists, the Obsession, the Craft (Paperback)
This book is a tribute to American creativity. It is an inspiration to see so many artists follow through on their dreams. While most artist use canvas, these folks use automobiles to express every emotion and passion. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has a coffee table and wants something truly interesting to display!
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb book about a superb phenomenon.,
By A Customer
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This review is from: Art Cars: The Cars, the Artists, the Obsession, the Craft (Paperback)
If this book doesn't bring a great big smile on your face & a sense of wonder & joy in your heart, well...it's probably clinical.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
When I began my first art car, Oh My God!, I painted a rooster on the driver's door. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
art car artists, many art cars, first art car, art car parade, art bikes, glue cars, car medium, car events, daily driver Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mardi Gras, San Francisco, New Orleans, Tom Kennedy, Big Horn, David Best, Los Angeles, Philo Northrup, Spoon Man, The Doll Car, Art Car Museum, Banana Bicycle Brigade, Burning Man Festival, Cow Goddess, New Mexico, Yarn Car, Button Man, Lucy Harvey, Matt Slimmer, Penny Man, Pico De Gallo, Planet Karmann, Ripper the Friendly Shark, The Duke New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
When I began my first art car, Oh My God!, I painted a rooster on the driver's door. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
art car artists, many art cars, first art car, art car parade, art bikes, glue cars, car medium, car events, daily driver Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mardi Gras, San Francisco, New Orleans, Tom Kennedy, Big Horn, David Best, Los Angeles, Philo Northrup, Spoon Man, The Doll Car, Art Car Museum, Banana Bicycle Brigade, Burning Man Festival, Cow Goddess, New Mexico, Yarn Car, Button Man, Lucy Harvey, Matt Slimmer, Penny Man, Pico De Gallo, Planet Karmann, Ripper the Friendly Shark, The Duke New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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