The joy of art cars is that they can take art to the people. Creating something of real artistic brilliance is one thing when you can put it in a museum and then worry whether anyone will come and see it, but when you create an artwork on wheels you know that you can take it to the streets. And the best thing is that, because it is so rare to see an art car, you guarantee the attention of individuals who will naturally stop and look because, well, this isn’t something they are used to.

Ernie Steingold’s California Fantasy Van is one of the more remarkable pieces that the art car world has given us. Where sometimes the world of “normal” art will give us a standard piece from a guy who has been to art school, the Fantasy Van is a GMC Panel Van covered in brass objects by a man who made his living as a vacuum cleaner repairman. Ernie Steingold decorated the vehicle with different items dedicated to people who were important to him, and attached a brass plaque reading “DAD” to the driver’s side door, to signify the importance of his family in his life.

In total, the van was covered with coins to the value of $15,000 and 5,000 brass items, accumulated over the course of a period of 10 years. When Ernie died in 1998, the van remained as a legacy to the world from a man with a vision. This year, California Fantasy Van won the Mayor’s Choice award at the Houston Art Car Parade.