Tires Rock... and Roll

Tire by Roy Lichtenstein 1970
image source: ElissaSCA

Rob Pruitt 2010
Pattern and Degradation
Opening reception at Gavin Brown's Enterprise and Maccarone, New York
image source: VernissageTV Didier Didier

Tires are in.
Ever since we had the car tires balanced 3 weeks ago and found out they had weather cracking, it has been nothing but tire research and obsessive e-gathering of info by Tom. Including tread designs and compounds, you tube videos of tires being tested in Sweden near the Arctic circle, images of tires so zoomed in they fill the entire screen. When we opened up the NY Times art section today and saw the huge picture of Rob Pruitt's new gallery show in NYC I was as Tom puts it "surprised to see that someone else saw the art in tread design" or as I put it "amazed to find his same recent obsession made manifest in the NY art scene." The tire has been used often in modern art. I found Lichtenstein's portrait of a Tire. I like it, even though Tom says it's old tech. When I think of tire that's the image that comes to mind, a big outdated symbol of power! It's been nothing but tires tires tires everyday, I don't think I've ever been so keenly aware of tires, everyday we go out we stop to look at people's tires, they must think we're vandals. As Tom puts it, "black and commonplace and taken for granted, hissing beneath your car seat is a work of art!"

Literally there's hundreds of tires going by outside our window right now, we hear tires, we see tires, I'm sure Tom dreams about tires, and smells them too. We also just heard, involuntarily, John Lennons' I'm Just Sitting here making the wheels go round and round(no doubt with tires mounted!!) Snow treads, summer treads, rain treads, treads that wear fast, treads that last! With tires black is the new black!

You may recall BMW's ad for a car freak, using the tire tread as brush. Set up on a giant canvas the Z4 powerslides across the surface to create a unique work of art. Their campaign was dubbed "an expression of joy" I think it's an expression Tom is all too familiar with!!

I will keep you posted on our latest tire purchase, our car will soon be mounted with new works of art... to compliment it's yellow smile, we're sure it will smile even wider with it's new skins mounted!