Art Talk
Art and Architecture
Art reviews from art critics Edward Goldman and Hunter Drohojowska-Philp.
By Edward Goldman • • 4m ListenTHE CAR DESIGN OF J MAYS AT MOCA
GRANT MUDFORD AT ROSAMUND FELSEN GALLERY
When a few years ago the Guggenheim Museum in New York staged its extravaganza "The Art of the Motorcycle" it became the museum's biggest blockbuster. Frank Gehry designed an intoxicatingly fluid installation wrapped in shiny mirrors. Witnesses described hordes of leather-clad bikers invading the elegant spiral ramp of the Frank Lloyd Wright building. Everyone, from Fifth Avenue matrons to horny New Jersey schoolboys, wanted to see it.
It's difficult not to compare that show with the recently opened exhibition on car design at MOCA's Geffen Contemporary. Titled "Retrofuturism: The Car Design of J Mays", it deals with works by the American car designer who is currently Vice President of Global Design at Ford Motor Company. Previous to that he came up with his most famous design, the new Volkswagen Beetle. I wonder, when you see it on the street, are you, like me, tempted to give it a friendly hug, and maybe even a little squeeze on its rear bumper?
The exhibition, smartly installed in the museum space which used to be a police car garage, draws connections between the worlds of fashion, architecture and industrial design. The only problem with this exhibition is that all its shiny cars, dressed in their Sunday best, behave as if they're at a church picnic and afraid to go over the speed limit. It's been a long time since industrial design became a legit subject for art museums. Today we expect more from such an exhibition than just the presence of beautiful objects. We want to be intrigued by new ideas about the cultural and artistic connections between the world of art and design. Unfortunately, that is not the case here. Though to be fair, I want to praise the very cool catalogue with its very hip design that makes the cars jump off the pages. If only the exhibition itself had such vitality.
"Grant Mudford"
November 23, 2002 - January 4, 2003
Rosamund Felsen Gallery
2525 Michigan Avenue
Bergamot Station, B4
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Tel. (310) 828-8488