Blank Canvas: The Art Of The Automobile
This BeStreet63 piece by Alfonso Timbancaya hits pretty close to home for any car enthusiast. Cars, while mainly serving as point A-to-B devices, are more than just that.
The first thing you have to understand is that most people won’t just get it. For us men (and women) with fuel running through our veins, the simple act of flooring the throttle or perfectly clipping the apex may just be enough to make your day that bit better. To the rest of civilization, they would have just asked you to slow down and stay safe.
Having a passion for cars or anything automotive is a passion often subjected to criticism. Why acquire such loud and impractical machines that consume too much fuel and can only carry around 2 passengers at a time? To those who question, we understand. We acknowledge that our passion may not be the greatest for the environment nor is having a car slammed to the ground the best thing to do from a functionality point of view. But like many works of art it is often misunderstood, and it is only when you indulge in the culture and influence behind it can you really appreciate it for what it is.
Yes, automobiles were created to bring the horse carriage into the future; they were made to get people from point A to point B in relative ease. However, to us gearheads, they are more than just tools for transportation or hauling the weekly groceries. They are an extension of our being; a blank slate to show our unique charisma and tastes. There is a reason why we spend endless hours searching the internet for rare parts or spend every weekend at the track honing our driving skills. To us, our cars are a way to escape the haze of everyday life as we drive our rolling canvases into the dusk of dawn.
Keep in mind that with any piece of artwork comes meaning behind the strokes. Cars can be a symbol of class and success while also being a treasured family heirloom passed down from one generation to the next. Each car carries with it the story of its owner(s) and all the memories made throughout its years in service. It can be a meticulous, expensive, and time-consuming act to maintain such machinery, but as artists we continually change, upgrade, and restore to achieve the ultimate expression of our personality; our own individual masterpiece.
As all creators are, we crave for the best instruments to showcase our craft. We strive to attain the necessary tools and materials to make our artwork truly stand out from the sea of stock vehicles. Not all artworks are the same however, as each artist pursues his or her ideals. For some, their cars are used to showcase the best of their abilities as they slide from hairpin to hairpin in full control, listening to their ITBs sing their sonorous symphony. For others, they spend years trying to tick every option on their catalog to build the best example of what an OEM car could become. Whatever it may be, at the core of it all stands the desire to create something personal, intimate, and full of emotion. In any way, they aren’t just modes of transportation, they are the perfect medium for us artists to truly present our individuality, freedom, and most importantly, our passion.
Words and Photos by Alfonso Timbancaya
