In his book Cannery Row, John Steinbeck wrote;
Someone should write an erudite essay on the moral, physical, and aesthetic effect of the Model-T Ford on the American nation. Two generations of Americans knew more about the Ford coil than the clitoris, about the planetary system of gears than the solar system of stars… The theory of the Anglo Saxon home became so warped that it never quite recovered.
John Calley's art practice is an attempt to answer Steinbeck’s challenge by drawing on personal family history and pop-cultural automobile imagery. It is an ever evolving exploration of the various representational possibilities that exist within the images and forms of popular car culture. This exploration often touches on large cultural issues as well as highly personal experiences. It is sometimes exultant, sometimes critical, and more often both.
Someone should write an erudite essay on the moral, physical, and aesthetic effect of the Model-T Ford on the American nation. Two generations of Americans knew more about the Ford coil than the clitoris, about the planetary system of gears than the solar system of stars… The theory of the Anglo Saxon home became so warped that it never quite recovered.
John Calley's art practice is an attempt to answer Steinbeck’s challenge by drawing on personal family history and pop-cultural automobile imagery. It is an ever evolving exploration of the various representational possibilities that exist within the images and forms of popular car culture. This exploration often touches on large cultural issues as well as highly personal experiences. It is sometimes exultant, sometimes critical, and more often both.
