Art, Spirit, & Mischief The Art Car Parade Grows Up Alongside
Houston By Claudia Kolker
million or more, has been buy and protect his masterpiece. Thanks to copied in other cities, and has Oshman, the Orange Show Foundation was sent retired cars to collectors born. Thanks to a 1967 station wagon, the Art from Berlin to Car parade was born shortly after. Kuala Lumpur. In 1984, Orange Show supporters Kit But wherever art cars rev and Carl Detering donated the car for a their engines, they echo a fundraising auction. Artist Jackie Harris spirit distinctive to Houston. turned it to art, gluing plastic bananas, Above all, it flows from Ridiculous, It springs from an economy grapes, and, naturally, oranges, to fashion pulsing with fossil fuel, a the Fruitmobile. samesyear, t he crossroads of bohemian,The and t ill Lawndale Art zoning free-for-all that lets an Center showcased two other art cars, and Mexican decorat ive flair, occasionally improper, tonlocal artists began Housother e d i s g n o l A p U s w o r G e d a r a P r a C t r artist weld a wheeled dragon in his using vehicles as A e h T Sout hern eccent ricity, The car looked poised to t he event s Houston’s driveway, and a balmy climate that allows canvases. In 1986, reflect organizers of breathe fire. A tank-like Ford Falcon, Wes tern individualism, outdoor art to become an obsession. Above New Music Parade invited the Fruitmobile Hous ton's interes t in its sides covered in books, rolled down Allen all, it flows from a crossroads of Southern and some 19 other art cars to cruise down and Texan quality of life. Parkway pointing a flame-throwing cannon. eccentricity, Western individualism, and Montrose Boulevard to the dedication of the entthe repreneurship The cannon worked, owner’s friends Mexican-style decorative verve. new sculpture garden at the Museum of knew, because they had seen it belch fire at Fine Arts. parties throughout the city. Somewhere else The bond between a Sunbelt city and this might prompt a call insanely tricked-out cars The artists drove their creations to the to the fire marshal -was not obvious in 1984, museum with aplomb. Then, as Houston but in Houston, it raised when the first art car was Chronicle reporter Lisa Gray later wrote, Above all, it flows from Ridiculous, a cheer. So did a sedan fashioned. For decades, “instead of stopping politely,” t he crossroads of bohemian, and s t illartist bedecked with Barbies, a Houston postal worker Scott Prescott turned his rusted-out half Mexican decorat ive flair, occasionally improper, the pickup studded by named Jeff McKissack Impala, half-Caprice with tank treads and Sout hern eccent ricity, t he event reflect s tennis balls, and the had been quietly making flamethrower and took off back down Main Wes tern individualism, Hous ton's interes t in mobile replica of a KFC his 3,000 square foot Street, a rock and Texan chicken leg. quality of life. lot into a tribute to the ent repreneurship orange. Found objects, Art, civic spirit and plaster turrets, and mischief have been carnivalesque fueling Houston’s Art Car movement for colors made their way in; so 30 years. An eye-spinning public event that did a homemade clown statue lasts for days every spring, it peaks in a and neatly painted homilies parade featuring more than 250 vehicles about life, citrus, and health. ranging from a wood-paneled pirate ship When McKissack died in 1980, to a driveable high-heeled shoe. The Houston arts leader Marilyn extravaganza draws crowds of a quarter Oshman convinced 21 friends to
Galleria lures shoppers. Preschoolers dash for peanut candy tossed from the Hare Krishna float, and cheer at the Fish Car’s clacking fake lobsters. Middle schoolers scoot bikes behind vans of disco dancers. And with the help of an ex-hippie named Rebecca band and posse of skimpily dressed Bass, teenagers build some of the skaters coasting behind. The Art Car ethic best art cars in the parade. had hit the road: create, cooperate, but get ngside Houston locoopted. Up A e Grows don’t This was not always the tone A year later, the Houston International of the movement, Bass says. A Festival asked the Orange Show to stage “fringe member” of the Lawndale a parade. The foundation agreed, calling crowd, she took part in the the art car-centered spectacle Roadside parade from the start. “It was Attractions. In April 1988, 40 decked-out not child-friendly,” she says. autos rumbled down Houston streets, and “It was called the a tradition was born. artists’ parade. There were cars making Today the parade still political statements funds the outsider art that could rub you m Ridiculous, of the Orange Show. the wrong way” bohemian, and s t ill At night, artists still -- gory-looking air, occasionally improper, gather at a lastwar protests, y, minute location to t he event reflect s provocative m, parade in borderlineHous ton's interes t in slogans -- “and legal conveyances. quality of life. our audiences [CUT: Flamethrowers were mainly are involved]. But homeless guys. And the parade’s character, oncoming cars.” like that of Houston, has changed. Ridiculous, bohemian, Almost immediately, however, and still occasionally improper, the event Bass began teaching inner-city students now reflects Houston’s interest in quality to design art cars. First a social worker, of life. In the spirit of Discovery Green and and then an HISD art teacher, she the shining skein of bayou parks, believed ardently in the power of the parade is sponsored by community art. Now corporations and saluted HISD believes in it by mayors. An outsider too: in 2014, Bass movement is now the became the first establishment. teacher in the city, maybe the country, There’s another change, to be a designated slathered in sunscreen Art Car instructor. and scrunched on the In 2015, her Reagan sidewalks. Today’s art High School team won cars draw kids like the first place with Electric
Ladyland, a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. The psychedelic result included a bust of Jimi Hendrix, beads and hubcaps, and 15 replicas of Hendrix guitars. Across the Americas, another art car still is transforming. In 2003, Raul Lemesoff’s book-covered, cannondecked Weapon of Mass Instruction won the Art Car Parade’s second place. (No flames were thrown). He has now remade the car in his native Buenos Aires, where it is a rolling bookstore from which he hands out free volumes of fiction and verse. It’s still got the flame-thrower in front. Once favored by Argentina’s military, Lemesoff’s Falcon is now a salute to the spirit -- still with a dash of transgression.
HOUSTON ART CAR PARADE WEEKEND April 7 - 10, 2016