Artwork > Car Sculptures

'The RothKar' takes its name from the famed American painter Mark Rothko. This car represents the speed, mass, and comfort suggested by current car designs. Recent developments on the Rothkar have pushed the sculpture into a relationship with NASCAR culture. The celebrated Rothko seemd to court tragedy, death, and extreme sensibilities in the psyche of his art practice. Like a NASCAR driver, Rothko seemed to pursue working toward the edge of disaster. Rothko met a tragic end after much success and media attention for his attractive, risky, painting. Painting was a death-sport in dark red car models. Rothko's racetrack was his mind and his studio practice. Mental and painterly theatrics were the obsession. In American culture and abroad, cars generate mobility, status, profits, and over consumption. These forces grind at the human mind. The sculpture cars are motionless and powerless, constructed from plywood and various materials, they become objects or containers for complex historical, political, social, and cultural issues.

RothKar
RothKar
painted plywood
5'x5'x16'
2012