California car culture meets art
The Petersen Automotive Museum will debut the first in a series of ‘California-themed’ exhibitions to kick off its 25th anniversary in 2019. Titled ‘Auto-Didactic: The Juxtapoz School,’ the display will examine a mix of art pieces and vehicles from the artists of ‘Juxtapoz Magazine,’ who have helped redefine the role and imagery of automobiles in contemporary art.
More than 50 artists will be on display including skateboarder, designer and OBEY Clothing Founder Shepard Fairey; famous pinstriper of the ‘Kustom Kulture’ movement Von Dutch; and painter, cartoonist and ‘Juxtapoz Magazine’ founder himself Robert Williams.
In addition to the selection of art pieces, the exhibition will highlight notable art cars including the 1932 Ford Roadster named ‘Prickly Heat’ by Robert Williams, ‘The Orbiton’ by Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth and the 1959 Cadillac titled ‘The New and Improved Ultima Suprema Deluxa’ by Kenny Scharf.
Launched with the mission of connecting subculture genres such as psychedelic posters, hot rod art, street art and illustration with traditional ‘highbrow’ mediums, ‘Juxtapoz Magazine’ was founded in 1994. Since its inception, the magazine has continuously addressed themes deemed ‘unsavory’ by staunch art critics. It was not until the Laguna Art Museum’s presented its ‘Kustom Kulture’ exhibition in 1993 that the relative interests of underground artists and collectors were presented as a unified group, paving the way for the creation of the magazine.