{"id":14429,"date":"2023-08-24T17:12:59","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T21:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/?p=14429"},"modified":"2023-08-30T22:48:45","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T02:48:45","slug":"the-art-history-of-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/2023\/08\/24\/the-art-history-of-cars\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art History of Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A museum collection of 20th-century cars traces how automotive design reflects changing cultural needs and aspirations \u2014 as all good design does.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

My brothers were car-crazy teenagers, and \u2014 during the ensuing decades \u2014 their love of the automobile matured right along with them. My husband and I recently accompanied one of those brothers to the Sarasota Classic Car Museum<\/a>, and while they did their thing, I approached the museum in my own way. Cars as art \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
1954 MG TF \u2014 Owned by Brian Johnson, lead singer with AC\/DC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Davira Taragin was the curator of 20th-century decorative arts and design at the Detroit Institute of Arts in the 1980s. She argued that cars are works of sculptural art, and called for \u201cscholarship [that] stressed the purely aesthetic aspects of automotive design as sculpture.\u201d She asserted that, between 1925 and 1950, auto design was part of the larger modernist art movement, adhering to its imperative that form follow function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Model cars display at the Sarasota Classic Car Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Sarasota Classic Car Museum is one of the oldest continuously-operating car museums in the country, and while the building itself is showing its age, most of the cars and other wheeled vehicles are as bright and shiny as the day they rolled out of the shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
1951 Porche 356; Coupe in background, Cabriolet in foreground<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tuning out my companions\u2019 talk of transmissions and displacement, I instead focused on the diversity of styles and aesthetic detail. The signage helped contextualize the effects of global events and technological progress on design throughout the course of the 20th century. Shapes and sizes \u2014 and of course what was placed under the hood \u2014 inevitably reflected advances in engineering. And \u2014 in the same way as the history of art traces a timeline of social and political change \u2014 developments in automobile design reflect changes through time of cultural needs and aspirations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Installation view, Sarasota Classic Car Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Spanning more than a century, immaculately-restored vintage automobiles are arrayed side-by-side with exotic and one-of-a-kind classics, concept cars, American muscle cars and European racing cars, motorcycles and more. And \u2014 stretching the \u201cclassic car\u201d label to its broadest sense \u2014 a pedal-powered ice-cream cart and a fantastic full-size replica of Abraham Lincoln\u2019s horse-drawn ceremonial hearse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Replica of Abraham Lincoln\u2019s Funeral Hearse
The actual hearse was destroyed by fire in 1887<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Replica of Fred Flintstone\u2019s Stone Age vehicle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Aside from the Flintstones\u2019 family car out front in the parking lot, a great starting point for a trip through automotive design history was a 1905 Schacht \u201cHigh Wheeler\u201d which appeared to be modelled out of buggy parts repurposed from the waning carriage industry. This particular vehicle was \u201chalf restored\u201d some 50 years ago, meaning one half was restored from front to back, while the other half still shows the derelict condition it had reached after five-plus decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
1905 Schacht. \u201cHigh-Wheeler\u201d built in Cincinnati, OH
Note the \u201chalf-restoration,\u201d most visible on the seat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nearby was a sign referring to \u201cOne of the biggest layoffs in history\u201d \u2014 which occurred when horses were retired from the transportation industry after WWI \u2014 noting, however, that the term \u201chorse power\u201d continues to be a measure of automobiles\u2019 mechanical muscle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early 20th century automobile designs were strictly utilitarian, but from that starting point a rich chronology of design concepts defines moments in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before 1908, cars were a luxury item, with fewer than 200,000 on the road. Then the automobile came into its own when Henry Ford initiated assembly-line production and began building affordable, dependable vehicles. His Model T sold 15 million units by the time it was discontinued 19 years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the 1920s came a period of economic prosperity, and the decade was called \u201croaring\u201d because of the exuberant, freewheeling popular culture that characterized it. Suddenly Americans wanted more than just a sturdy, affordable way to get from here to there. They wanted style, speed and luxury too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, a rapid expansion of infrastructure was taking place across the country. More paved roads allowed for less-rugged, lower-slung automobiles. As the puttering Tin Lizzie petered out, cars were becoming longer, lower, sleeker. Long-nosed bodies accommodated bigger engines, and pearlescent paint jobs reflected contemporary art-deco style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
John & Mable Ringling\u2019s 1924 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
It cost just shy of $15,000, new.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In an essay on European auto design, Tito Anselmi argued that European car designers in those days were heavily influenced by high-art movements like Art Nouveau and <\/strong>Art Deco,<\/strong> in order to appeal to the tastes of the upper-crust buyers who dominated the European market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1930s the invention of the single-hull chassis made cars easier to produce and lighter in weight. This innovation allowed loads to be supported through the vehicle\u2019s external skin \u2014 much like an egg shell \u2014 providing greater structural integrity. New stylistic opportunities arose, too, as previously distinct features like headlights and running-boards could now be integrated into the body. Two-tone exterior color schemes made less sense and fell out of favor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
1937 Gougeon Streamliner
Concept car built by Roger Gougeon at his home in Bay City, MI.
He believed this teardrop shape was the future of automotive design.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While engineers have known for a long time roughly what it takes to create aerodynamism, it was some time before those principles were applied to automobile design. Early mass-produced cars didn\u2019t need to incorporate aerodynamics because they weren\u2019t going anywhere fast. Some racing cars of the early 1900s incorporated tapering and aerodynamic features to one degree or another, but in the 1930s aerodynamic principles \u2014 made feasible by the single-hull chassis \u2014 began to be applied in family-vehicle styling. It was a teardrop-inspired design that would dominate for decades to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WWII \u2014 riding the coat-tails of the Great Depression \u2014 caused a major interruption to commercial car production. Automobiles stopped being made in 1942, and production of cars for civilians didn\u2019t resume until 1946.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the war also resulted in an important car design innovation. Called Ponton styling \u2014 from the French for \u201cpontoon\u201d \u2014 it was the culmination of the decade-long trend toward a single uninterrupted form from nose to tail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
1948 Buick Roadmaster illustrates Ponton styling.
(This car is not in the collection of the Sarasota Classic Car Museum.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The aerodynamic and visually cohesive Ponton styling dominated the US and Europe through the 40\u2019s and 50\u2019s and into the 1960\u2019s, with rounded hoods and bulbous headlights creating a flowing, muscular effect that reflected the confident, assertive optimism of the nation. More chrome and bigger fins came to dominate the US auto aesthetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere in the world, thought, post-war circumstances were very different. European car manufacturers scaled down to more compact and economical forms, as did Japanese auto-makers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
1957 BMW Isletta 300, designed in Italy by Renzo Rivolta, to fill the need for basic, inexpensive, weatherproof transportation in post-war Europe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The American trend toward \u201cboats on wheels\u201d eventually imploded, perhaps influenced by European, and particularly Japanese, imports into the United States. These smaller cars \u2014 more affordable and easier to park \u2014 filled a gap in the US market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As always, though, there was a significant segment of buyers demanding fast and sporty cars, and the small, less-powerful foreign cars that were flooding the American market just didn\u2019t make the cut for them. Enter the iconic Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro \u2014 statement styling with extended hoods and low-profile cabins and lots of horsepower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
1970 Shelby Mustang GT-350<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Foreign imports, the energy crisis in the early-\u201970s, and economic stagnation dealt a devastating decade-long blow to American auto design. A growing environmental consciousness viewed the automobile as particularly destructive and wasteful of the earth\u2019s resources, and America\u2019s big, powerful cars were targeted as being socially-irresponsible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As consumer demand and government regulation forced automakers to focus on efficiency over aesthetics, auto engineers began to wield more control over design than did stylists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
This 1975 Ghia Manx concept car promised \u201creliable and reasonably safe\u201d transportation in an era of expensive fuel and traffic congestion.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The introduction of bright colors for cars in those days was perhaps an attempt to compensate for a subconscious sense of loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trends march on. Concerns for safety, boredom with boxy, and an economic boom influenced automotive design in the 1980s and again the 2000s, bringing an explosion of different styles in the aughts. Burger King\u2019s 30-year-old \u201cHave it your way\u201d slogan foretold of auto designers generating a diversity of shapes and sizes to appeal to a diversity of car owner interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Poster showing examples of Rivolta designs for various segments of the market<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Automotive design is an art form that both leads and follows contemporary public taste and culture. From the early days of the industry cars have been tied to human aspirations as symbols of success or personal statements of one sort or another \u2014 shape-shifting with the times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article discusses how the design of cars has adapted to reflect the ever-changing needs of our culture. The biggest theme of the article is “cars as art.” This is a concept that I haven’t thought about before. I have thought of cars as design, but not specifically cars as art. The beginning of auto design started in the modernist art movement, which is that the form of cars must follow its function. Cars have changed shapes and sizes many times over the years, and the technology has improved continually. These changes reflect the changes of many other areas of the world including but not limited to, social change, political change, engineering advancements, the changes in people’s needs as well. Car design also changes with location. European cars are much different from North American car designs. This is very similar to how European art is different from North American art. This quote summarizes it best, “Automotive design is an art form that both leads and follows contemporary public taste and culture. From the early days of the industry cars have been tied to human aspirations as symbols of success or personal statements of one sort or another \u2014 shape-shifting with the times.” It is important for me to understand the advancements and history of car design, where it has been and where it could go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Works Cited:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ArtGeek.art. (2019, September 18). The art history of cars<\/em>. Medium. https:\/\/medium.com\/swlh\/the-art-history-of-cars-6042359135b4<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A museum collection of 20th-century cars traces how automotive design reflects changing cultural needs and aspirations \u2014 as all good design does. My brothers were car-crazy teenagers, and \u2014 during the ensuing decades \u2014 their love of the automobile matured right along with them. My husband and I recently accompanied one of those brothers to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":14430,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14429","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14429"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14896,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14429\/revisions\/14896"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}