I really had no idea what I was getting into when I made my way to the Art Car Museum in Houston. I expected to see painted and decorated cars, but I found much more.
Located in a nondescript area of Houston, from the outside the museum looks more like a garage than a museum. When I arrived, there was a very hairy, friendly guy who turned out to be the art car mechanic. Most of the cars require special care and maintenance, especially when getting ready for a parade.
When I entered the museum I learned that any donations would be given to the victims of the recent Texas floods. I also found out that although the museum has cars in it, there weren’t as many as I thought. About half the space is given over to rotating contemporary art exhibits. The cars themselves are a rotating exhibit. Only some of the several dozen available to show are actually in the museum at any one time.
This day the museum had about 7 cars, including a Prius painted with flora and fauna found on the owner’s property, a two-seater clad in metal and with menacing faces, a sea-shell encrusted car, a bat mobile, and one that looked like my worst nightmare. The mechanic, who kindly gave me a tour, said some of the hoods is quite heavy and require several people to pop them open.
The non-car exhibits were just as intriguing. Mark Chen showed a series of lenticular art pieces—To Inhabit—which have a climate change theme. As I walked from side-to-side images changed from what we see today to what we will see when sea levels rise. Central Park to a Central Lake. Times Square with taxi cars to Times Square with taxi boats.
Ken Watkins’ collection of photos of random people from Main Street in Houston presented an interesting slice of life in a Texas city. The art car photos of Irvin Tepper made the perfect backdrop to the art car space.
The museum employees guaranteed that next time I’m in Houston, everything in the museum is sure to be different. I might just go there again, or better yet, make it to Texas for the Houston Art Car Parade where I’ll be able to see the cars in action.
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