Corvettes in Storage in Brooklyn - Image by Tony Cenicola - NYT
I was going to run this piece for Modern Art Monday, but this story is so compelling it’s now under New York Times Sunday Edition. Anyway, I have a surprise for Modern Art Monday.
This is a very interesting story by the New York Times author Daniel McDermon, as he described telling how the Corvettes stored in his building were in various states of decay, and then moved. As the author has stated, the cars were the center of a tale of intrigue, outrage, and failed dreams. So read more after the jump:
Peter Max in 2009 - Image by Frank Franklin II - AP
There are 36 Corvettes at the heart of this story, and it all began in 1989, when the fledgling video music channel VH1 needed to break into the big time, and sponsored a contest in which the grand prize was 36 Corvettes, starting with a 1953 model, to include one from each year all the way up to 1989. The contestants had to call a 900 number (1.3 million in all, and they payed a $2 fee!) and one winner was drawn. The winner was a carpenter from Long Island, Dennis Amodeo.
53 Corvette next to a VW painted by Peter Max. Will the Corvettes be painted similar? Photo by Tony Cenicola - NYT
This is the general condition of the Vette Collection - Photo by Tony Cenicola - NYT
Dennis was flown to California where he was presented the cars’ keys by musician Mike Love of the Beach Boys. It was around this time that the artist Peter Max heard about the contest, and invited Mr. Amodeo to the artists studio in Manhattan. A deal was struck, where Max would pay $250,000 in cash, artwork valued at $250,000, as well as a percentage of the proceeds for any future sale, up to $1 million.
Again, according to the author, Max’s original idea was to paint each car in the vivid, often saturated colors he is known for, but a legal battle with the I.R.S. delayed any such notion for the time being. A new plan was drafted in which Max would take the collection up to 50 cars, and the painting of the cars would be a blend of vintage Peter Max, and respect for the Corvette Enthusiast, whatever that is suppose to mean.
The Vettes on the move - Photo by Jenna Stern
It looks like for the time being, the cars are being relocated from their slumber under a Brooklyn apartment building, said to be once the Daily News printing plant, to their new storage facility in Upper Manhattan. If you want to read this fascinating article, click on this link.
This story has pissed me off for years. But "Peter Max." Heh, hehheh.
Same for me. It is confusing to see a guy do this. I've had arguments with "artists" who don't think a car is a work of art but if someone brushes silly paint on it then it is art.
Anyone that says that is taking themselves too effing seriously. There is no way to say our personal take on it is the answer. To paraphrase an old proverb that deals with religion: we are all blind men touching different parts of an elephant. The guy grabbing on the leg saying they were dealing with a tree and the guy touching the trunk saying they had a giant snake were equally wrong. It is best not to try and confine manifestations of the part of us that struggles to provide context to our existence to a definition.
"Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, sculpture, and paintings. The meaning of art is explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics."
And if aesthetics don't play a part in designing cars, then I will punch my Mom in the face. And she's a super lady.
Excellent. Well said.
That thick coating of dust on many of those cars has a distinct smell of 9/11 to it.
These are 'Vettes, not Porsches.
I was reading something the other day on the original run of Corvettes. Apparently they were horrible. Were talking blotchy, bubbling paint, poorly fitted panels, an underpowered engine, and…. No exterior door handles? If both the top and the windows were up, how did one get inside their 'vette?
Woops, just read something ELSE that claims the original run didnt even have roll up windows.
Overall pretty similar to the British sports cars of the day. The first year they only made 300, most of them went to people chosen by GM, celebrities of the day and the bigger dealerships. You had a choice of white with red interior only too. The only real crime was the 2 speed automatic as the only transmission. The Vette has always leaned a little more towards the GT side of sports car. It took them a couple of years before you could get a proper V-8 and a manual transmission. The old Chevy straight 6 actually has higher HP (150) than the Ford flathead V-8s of 1953 (125), and was only 10HP off the much more sophisticated Jag XK straight 6 of 1953.
The book I was reading made it sound like they were atrocious. Im far from a Corvette expert though, so thanks for giving me a more complete picture.
As an artist, Peter Max is a hack. The fact that he has all these cars for a body of work makes me ill. Poor cars. They don't deserve to look like that. Even the BMW art cars were a bit suspect in my mind. Warhol did it much better. And yes, I have an Art degree.
When I first read this, I thought Peter Max was going to paint these Corvettes on canvas. No, he is going to actually paint the Corvettes. I think his art is very interesting, but only on canvas. I'm sickened that he wants to screw-up these Corvettes like he did this piano.
<img src="http://lastheplace.com/images/article-images/writers/Kyra/Vegas/PeterMax_Piano.jpg">
Ha! On my little iPod screen, that Beetle look like this car…
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v648/smokyburnout/DaleEarnhardtPeterMaxRef3604-vi.jpg">
That seems like a pretty lousy deal for Dennis Amodeo. $250k cash and $250k in art work = $500k, that's only $14k per car. I imagine that in 1989 this collection was in pretty dang good condition. Now, some of them wouldn't be worth $14k but some of them would be worth far more. Just the 1953 might be worth a million or more nowadays. Average is close to $300k. None of the 1954-1962 is worth less than $50k if they're in good shape. So there's another $450,000. Total conservative so far is $750,000.
And the "percentage of future sale" bit? Well, we've seen how that's worked out for him so far, 21 years later.
Independent of the story those pictures make me feel nauseous. What a waste.
Peter Max's art kind of makes me nauseous, too.
Independent of the story those pictures make me feel nauseous. What a waste.
Peter Max's art kind of makes me nauseous, too.
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