With a mariachi group singing along, the last Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the manufacturing line of a Mexican factory on the 10th of July.
The Beetle was first created in Germany at the urging of Adolf Hitler; the Beetle was eventually exported all over the world. Each country that sold the vehicle incorporated it into their customs.
In Mexico, it was called”the ” Vocho” and was a favorite among taxi drivers who painted them in white and green. In France in France, it was known as”the ” Coccinelle,” or “lady bug,” it was a swarm of the country’s twisting streets that were once medieval.
In America, the United States, in which it was affectionately known as “the Bug,” was a symbol of the unorthodox and unique.
In my undergraduate course in history, “The Automobile and American Life,” the first picture of a vehicle students see is not an actual Ford Model T but rather a Beetle art vehicle that is featured in the film of filmmaker Harrod Blank’s ” Wild Wheels.”
I have shown Blank’s Beetle because, for me, cars represent creativity, individuality, and freedom. Car enthusiasts who are art-oriented, like Blank, who turned their vehicles into actual vehicles for self-expression – elevated these ideals to new highs.
Would Americans purchase a car from Hitler?
In the time that Beetle came to be released into its U.S. market in 1949, the majority of Americans didn’t have anything similar to it. Some knew of the connection with Adolf Hitler, which wasn’t a very strong selling factor.
Mechanically and aesthetically, It was almost all the things that the cars were that the three “Detroit Three” – General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford weren’t.
A Volkswagen advertisement from 1962 points out the car’s small size. Alden Jewell/Flickr, CC BY
Instead of being accentuated with sharp angles, the design was more round. Instead of being heavy and susceptible to overheating, it was affordable, reliable, and made to last. ( Its parts were described as being assembled in such a tight way that it was necessary to open the door to close a door, and it could even flounder when parked in lakes.) While most people desired a car that symbolized the status of speed, power, and speed, the Beetle was awe-inspiringly “cute.”
The Beetle was extremely controversial. A poll included in the issue from January of 1969 Road & Track magazine emphasized the gulf: The majority of those who owned the car were happy with their car and said they would purchase another. However, a few motorists complained that the cars – particularly those made prior to 1965 – were inefficient and slow.
This is why the style was always able to target a particular market. However, among its devotees, it earned an almost cult status.
Certain owners have made modifications to themselves, adding power and making the car more responsive. Others, influenced by the car’s beautiful design, utilized it to create creative declarations. One of them was a Harrod Blank.
“Oh My God” is a cult hit.
Blank, the son of filmmaker as well as ceramic artist Blank, was born in the year 1963 and graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1986 with a degree in the field of film and theater arts.
In the late 80s, Blank bought a damaged VW Beetle and decided to utilize it as a canvas to make a piece of art.
He first painted a rooster onto the driver’s side of the door. Then, he added an earth globe to the front ornament, hung TVs on the roof, and then tacked the plastic chickens and fruits onto the front bumper. He put a sticker on the back of the car that read “Question Authority” and eventually named the vehicle “Oh My God.”
The name was a reference to Blank’s later awareness that his car wasn’t the only art vehicle in America.
In reality, the car catalyzed a trend. The popularity of the vehicle brought together people who changed Beetles and other models in creative ways, often decorating them with old consumer items.
Blank was followed by “Oh My God” with another composition inspired by a Beetle, ” Pico De Gallo.” A fully interactive work of work, the vehicle was equipped with two electronic guitars drums keyboards, and an accordion.
Both cars reflected the central aim that the movement of art cars had, which was to interact with people in a way that inspires delight and excitement. Blank, along with other art car enthusiasts, hoped that their automobiles would encourage people to resist the status quo and resist the increasingly homogeneous society.
The book contains images and a few films included 1991’s “Wild Wheels” and 2009’s ” Automorphosis,” was followed by. Blank has since arranged for a variety of art car shows, the majority of which took place within Houston and the San Francisco Bay area and Houston.
Other notable models of Beetle art vehicles include one with an iron-clad body and another equipped with a multitude of light bulbs.
Naturally, there are many kinds and models in addition to that of the Beetle that have been turned into art vehicles. However, the Beetle was a perfect canvas for Blank. Along with other artists, this Volkswagen Beetle proved to be the ideal canvas.
The Nazis likely did not have any idea that their mass-produced vehicle would become the epitome of freedom and imagination.
