The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is considered the highest arena for the car artist, certainly in the English speaking world and by many further afield. The longer it goes on, the greater its prestige becomes, and this year the event notched up its 59th event. As a result, next year will be an important birthday [...]

There is something happening in the world of the art car, it seems certain. For many years the parade in Houston, as well as the strong local art car community, have been at the forefront of a strong American art car movement. Up to now, though, there has been limited take-up of the concept outside [...]

Even by art car standards this has been a strange year. The world of art cars has lost some valued friends and participators, and on a brighter note we have seen the return of the art car festival in Minneapolis (against all the odds, in a year which has seen financial constraints put the bite [...]

Although for some time a leading light of the art car movement, Minneapolis had to bid a “see you later” to its Parade in 2008, with a lack of funding meaning that it could not go ahead for a year. However, 2009 saw it return with a smile in its face, absence having truly made [...]

For a lover of car art, the center of the universe is located in Los Angeles at the Petersen Automotive Museum. So named for the benefactors Margie and Robert Petersen, who founded the museum and have put $30 million of their own money into it, the Petersen Automotive Museum is home to some of the [...]

London has joined Houston, San Francisco and a number of other major world cities in hosting its first annual Art Car parade on the 14th of June this year. Influenced by the work of Harrod Blank, Philo Northrup and the British Art Car group Walk the Plank, London resident Esther de Angelis threw herself into [...]

Although the art car movement is a fairly decentralised entity – with hubs in many places including California and Arizona among others – there are many people who view Houston as the de facto home of the movement. Certainly, the presence in Houston of the world’s first Art Car museum curated by Ann and James [...]

Harrod Blank’s impact on the world of art cars needs no discussion, save to say that he is without doubt the most active and prominent mover in the whole movement. In addition to his three films, his own art cars and his other activities in the medium, it should probably come as no surprise to [...]

For anyone who loves cars, the thought of a large scale museum dedicated to the veneration of classic automobiles is on a par with the concept of the Louvre for fans of art, or the Globe theatre for fans of stage drama. There is a great deal of store set by the existence of somewhere [...]

The message about art cars has been kept largely quiet over the years, not through any conspiracy, but because it’s always been an example of outsider art. If you want mainstream, then there are galleries for you everywhere. For fans of art cars, however, there is a single prominent Art Car Museum in Houston and [...]

Although Houston is the undeniable home of the art car movement – that’s where it truly started, and that is where the biggest art car pilgrimage still goes every year – the true test of the movement’s popularity is in how it translates to other places. If all that the movement did was maintain a [...]

It seems crazy to even think it, but the second weekend of May saw Houston’s 22nd annual Art Car Parade. For an art form that has, at times, had precious little representation in the media, 22 years is some going – but in the home of the art car we shouldn’t be surprised that the [...]

It seems crazy to even think it, but the second weekend of May saw Houston’s 22nd annual Art Car Parade. For an art form that has, at times, had precious little representation in the media, 22 years is some going – but in the home of the art car we shouldn’t be surprised that the [...]

The Houston Art Car Parade is an annual celebration of all that is crazy, cracked, weird and wonderful about the world of art cars. As with any parade, there was an element of competition – it isn’t a criticism to say that the whole ethos of art cars has a lot to do with yelling [...]

Seattle has been associated for quite some time with outsider art of differing sorts. The grunge movement is a specific example of this, with the city throwing up some of the most influential, successful bands of the 90s, among which the obvious kingpin would have to be Nirvana. While other cities may have been homes [...]

The Art Car and Houston have not exactly been unconnected in the past, as anyone who has a deep interest in Art Cars will happily tell you. In fact, the Art Car movement is almost umbilically linked to the city, with Houston being a home to the Art Car Museum and a parade all of [...]

Many years ago, the French people used to have contests where horse-drawn carriages were compared to one another in order to see which was the most opulent and beautiful. Prizes were bestowed on the finest carriages. As time went on, the horses disappeared from the contest as it became more about the carriage. Then the [...]

If there is a spiritual home for the Art Car, then it must be a fair assertion that that home lies in Houston. The home of the world’s first Art Car Museum – affectionately dubbed the “Garage Mahal” by art car aficionados – is also home to a parade that has been highlighting art cars [...]

They say that you are never somebody until somebody spoofs you, and this is surely good news for the people who brought the idea of a “Concours d’Elegance” to the United States. With the joyful and satirical tendency, that informs all of the best comedy, it has taken little time for someone – in this [...]

The Art Car phenomenon has been a mostly American pursuit up to now, with the patronage of Harrod Blank ensuring that the reputation of art cars is strongly represented in the media and online. It is encouraging to see, though, that it is getting its opportunities elsewhere now and this is demonstrated by the burgeoning [...]

Art Car Fest
Although Art Cars are still something of a minority interest, there is no doubting that a strong support movement is springing up around the medium, and with a continued work ethic on the part of those supporters, we may well see breakthroughs beyond what we have already enjoyed in the mass media. The [...]

Although a good piece of work in the art car medium will always catch peoples’ eyes, there is a lot of reason to believe that it continues to be a minority art form. Not that this is a bad thing per se, as very often the best work culturally comes from what is effectively a [...]

Fine Art has the Louvre; Opera has its own house in Sydney. Classical music has its many homes. It is only fitting, then, that Art Car enthusiasts should have their own Mecca. This Mecca is the Art car museum located in Houston, Texas. If you have a soft spot for the wonderful works of the [...]