CAR CULTURE
Car Culture Panels, for Soquel Parking Garage
1997-2001, Santa Cruz, CA
Vicki Scuri SiteWorks with Gary Garmann Architects
Sponsored by City of Santa Cruz Department of Public Works
This project includes 17 porcelain enamel on steel panels
32"x88" each. The flat, graphic, hard-edged, and contemporary quality
of the images recalls the hard, shiny finish of cars. This is in direct
contrast with sculpted, geometric forms of Art Deco referenced through
"overlapping coin and "endless wave" motifs that once characterizing
Santa Cruz's historic buildings. Each panel pairs transportation imagery
with a popular song title that reflects its image. The songs are both old
and new, capturing slices of Americana within the last hundred years: the
time period when the automobile was introduced. These images invite
the viewer to investigate the lyrics and reconsider the words in light
of our love and hate for contemporary car culture. The series extends
beyond the automobile to other modes of transportation including:
bicycles, buses, trains, and walking, offering an amusing portrait of the
dilemmas and ironies that we all face as we hop into our cars while
advocating for a "car free, care free" ride to our homes, our friends and
downtown destinations.
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