In 1961, Enzo Ferrari called the XKE Jaguar the most beautiful car ever made. Since then, cars have increasingly transcended their utilitarian purpose to become significant works of art, celebrated for their design, cultural impact and artistic reinterpretation.
For 13 years, Marco Island Center for the Arts has observed this trend with an annual classic car show. Unlike traditional car shows that focus primarily on mechanical specifications, “Cars as Art” highlights the artistic beauty, design, and craftsmanship of a stunning collection of antique and classic cars in which a panel of art professionals awards scores based on each vehicle’s aesthetic appeal and artistic presentation.
The date is April 4. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
MORE INFORMATION:
“Cars as Art” is held on the grounds of the Marco Island Center for the Arts at 1010 Winterberry Drive on Marco Island.
Presented in partnership with Vicky and Keith Pershing and Island Automotive, this distinctive event celebrates the intersection of art and automotive design.
Donations at the gate will help support programming at both the Arts Center and the Arts Center Theatre.
Owners of antique and classic vehicles may participate by registering their cars. The entry fee is $25 per vehicle.
Contact Island Automotive at 239-394-1887 or the Marco Island Center for the Arts at 239-394-4221 for more information about registering a vehicle or attending the event. Additional details can also be found at www.marcoislandart.org.
Cars as art over the years
John Chamberlain and Christo are two artists who have incorporated automobiles into their artistic catalog.
Chamberlain came to be known as the “crushed car” artist. That’s because he crafted sculptural forms from crushed, twisted and bent automobile parts. He once said, ““In finding your place in sculpture, you need to find the material that offers you just the right resistance. As it turns out, car metal offers me the correct resistance so that I can make a form—not overform it or underform it.”
Christo made headlines at Art Basel in 2024 with the introduction of “Wrapped 1961 Volkswagen Beetle Saloon.” It was a riff on a car sculpture he made in 1963, wrapping a friend’s VW, which he returned at the end of the gallery show. The 2024 sculpture was purchased by a European collector, who flipped it at a Swiss art fair for $4 million.
Many of Mexican artist Betsabeé Romero's pieces include tires and, occasionally, full cars. Romero's work has been exhibited in many places, including France, Spain, and the U.S.
Former Fort Myers resident Marcus Jansen often incorporates used tires in his paintings. Much has been written about the meaning of the old tires that populate many of his two- and even three-dimensional works.
“But initially, the tire represented me and the miles I left behind,” said Jansen once. “I use a lot of collage elements in symbolic terms, but there’s no end meaning to my work. Personally, I leave [my work] open to interpretation as far as what people read into it. I’m more concerned about having an impact on people and having them engaged in the work in some way and having them critically analyze it.”
In downtown Fort Myers, 23 Kevlar art panels encircle the Lee County Justice Center Parking Garage. Taken together, the 23 panels “metaphorically express the spirit of the automobile,” notes their creator, New York abstract artist Marylyn Dintenfass. It’s a subject with which Dintenfass has had a love affair since before she could drive.
“The circle shapes conjure tires, headlights, dashboard instrumentation and steering wheels,” the artist explains. “Linear patterns are emblematic of roads, ramps, directions and parking designations.” Dintenfass’ iconography of postwar American automotive culture directly integrates her interpretation of mobility and space with the fundamental purpose of a parking garage. It’s an apt simile given that Fort Myers was the winter home of Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone, two of the leading pioneers of the American automobile industry.
Houston does not hold an art car show, but it does hold an annual Art Car Parade featuring a display of all types of rolling art.
Down the road in Amarillo off Route 66 is the Cadillac Ranch, a public artwork consisting of 10 perfectly aligned Cadillacs with their front ends buried in the ground. Featuring 50 years' worth of history and thousands of layers of spray paint, Amarillo’s Cadillac Ranch is one of the most famous roadside attractions on Route 66.
A similar sculpture is Carhenge, on Highway 87 in Alliance, Nebraska. It consists of 38 American-made automobiles, all painted gray, with dimensions and layout to mimic Stonehenge. Carhenge is now preserved and owned by the Friends of Carhenge.
Additional automobile sculptures have been added to the site as part of the “Car Art Reserve.”
In 1989, artist Dustin Shuler created “The Spindle,” a 50-foot spike with eight cars impaled on it. It is located at the Cermak Plaza shopping center in Berwyn, Illinois.
About Marco Island Center for the Arts
Marco Island Center for the Arts brings a wide variety of arts to its community through art exhibitions, engaging educational programs for adults and children and a diverse assortment of events. The Arts Center Theatre offers both produced and presented theater productions as well as other live entertainment. The Art Center and its theater serve as professional and financial drivers for visual and performing artists and educators through exhibition, performance and teaching opportunities while being a catalyst that fuels economic development, an understanding of cultural diversity and community cohesion.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
