Recently I have received invitations to private receptions at the Scion Dashboard Gallery, a promotional effort by the car brand. The aim is to sell the brand to young people by associating it with artwork that looks young and preferably “street.” You know: graffiti, skulls, sci-fi, bad-ass language, and like that, bro. The San Francisco edition is happening in a temporary space in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley shopping district. The show will turn over 4 times in 4 weeks. I declined the party invitation but took a peek at week one. I knew there would be a Scion logo somewhere, but I had no idea that customize-your-Scion DVDs would be presented in trade-show fashion (photo above) or that a Scion car would be sitting in the center of the show, doors open.
The only art that registered at this viewing were some rap-like pieces by an artist whose name I didn’t get. One example shows a young Al Pacino talking tough about graffiti wars, it seems (photo above). Another one—it's good and punchy—shows the murdered rapper Biggie Smalls (photo below).
Unintended art moments in a completely different style were provided by some spotlighted displays of Scion parts (photos below). Shades of Haim Steinbach! I think my favorite is the one with the headrest, although the fog lights run a close second.
Recently I have received invitations to private receptions at the Scion Dashboard Gallery, a promotional effort by the car brand. The aim is to sell the brand to young people by associating it with artwork that looks young and preferably “street.” You know: graffiti, skulls, sci-fi, bad-ass language, and like that, bro. The San Francisco edition is happening in a temporary space in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley shopping district. The show will turn over 4 times in 4 weeks. I declined the party invitation but took a peek at week one. I knew there would be a Scion logo somewhere, but I had no idea that customize-your-Scion DVDs would be presented in trade-show fashion (photo above) or that a Scion car would be sitting in the center of the show, doors open.
The only art that registered at this viewing were some rap-like pieces by an artist whose name I didn’t get. One example shows a young Al Pacino talking tough about graffiti wars, it seems (photo above). Another one—it's good and punchy—shows the murdered rapper Biggie Smalls (photo below).
Unintended art moments in a completely different style were provided by some spotlighted displays of Scion parts (photos below). Shades of Haim Steinbach! I think my favorite is the one with the headrest, although the fog lights run a close second.
1 comment:
Ahhh... Glad you made it out! I think you might like the work of week three. There are images of it up at the SFGate's CultureBlog.
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