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_art and photograhy _
By: d.colizzi
in this paper I intend to introduce to the reader, the aims and objectives
which will hopefully set the foundations to the arguments which will be raised
in, the cultural biography of the Volkswagen. I shall be predominantly
observing the Volkswagen beetle in my research, although, parallels will be
drawn by also including the Volkswagen combi which I believe will help
demonstrate and strengthen my overall approach. We need to understand that the
beetle is primarily an object which has been produced for a specific function
to be consumed as a commodity and therefore has an exchange value associated
with it, albeit on a varying scale depending on its cultural status at the
time. The meaning of this consumer item will be looked at in depth and about
the place this thing and its meanings have within society. This is an
interesting aspect as the beetles cultural status and exchange value have
fluctuated along its historical timeline. The question of meaning raises
numerous questions – which will be largely presented through a discussion of
semiotics – about the relations between needs and objects, nature and culture,
meaning and social usage. In producing a biography of a thing, ie. the
Volkswagen beetle \ combi we need to approach it in a way similar to that of
composing a biography of a person. We need to ask questions such as, where
does the thing come from and who made it? What has been its career so far, and
what do people consider to be an ideal career for such a thing? What are the
recognized "ages” or periods in the things "life ",and what are the cultural
markers for them? How does the things use change with its age, and what
happens to it when it reaches the end of its usefulness. Today the beetle, for
most people has lost its status as a purely functional object and has changed
into an object full of signs and myths that allude to a way of life giving the
vehicle a certain status within society. We shall be looking at questions such
as who and why would somebody buy a Volkswagen and what it says about them.
And we shall be raising issues like form over function and when this becomes
apparent. when we look in a historical context of where the beetle came from
it is interesting to note that it came from Hitlers idea of producing a
vehicle for the masses. Volkswagen when translated, becomes "folks wagon" or
peoples car and it is significant that a car that was designed for the masses
to unify and subordinate them into conformity would later on become an
expression of individuality and a symbol of freedom and rebellion. Hitler
wanted to bring to the German people the same freedom of mobility enjoyed by
Henry Ford's millions of American car owners: hence the term volkswagen or
people's car. The first production model in 1937 was powered by an air-cooled
engine with the characteristic aerodynamically efficient beetle shape which
added to the little car's 40 miles per gallon fuel economy. After WWII
production resumed and the first beetles reached the U.S. and europe in 1949.
By the mid 1990's over 22 million of the original design had been produced.
The car was affordable transportation for the masses. With its original
purchase price of $200 the VW was, like Ford's Model-T, quite literally "the
People's car". What made it inexpensive to produce was its obvious small size.
What made it also inexpensive to maintain was the high mileage, air-cooled
engine. The conventional water cooled engine requires the additional weight,
expense and maintenance of pump, hoses and radiator. With minimal changes over
the years in body shape or internal structure, the car was endlessly
repairable since parts remained more or less the same, and VW could therefore
capitalize on the long life of its production tooling. In a sense the VW was a
modernist statement which rejected any frills or decoration that might be
superfluous to the car's basic function. It demonstrated good workmanship
throughout. The basic reliable and easy to maintain engine was purely
functional as was the total design of the car. Even six foot tall drivers
found plenty of head room in the tiny interior. Beetle Social Factors. By
rejecting the American ethos of both the planned obsolescence through annual
model changes and also the excesses of conspicuous consumption, the homely bug
came to represent a 60's counter culture . It was indeed the "people's car" by
providing on an international scale affordable transportation for low income
earners. Moreover, the bug was practical in its simplicity, small size, and
durability which endeared it to its loving public. Interestingly Volkswagen's
advertising was one of the first instances of a major corporation setting out
to market a technology on the basis of its social virtues. By informing the
public of its environmental green-ness ie small efficient engine equals less
fuel intake, Volkswagen was already one step ahead of its competitors during
the mid 70s oil crisis. It became the antithesis of the big, flashy American
car. This little economic car was the best-selling car in automotive history.
A truly international phenomenon, the German Volkswagen's efficiency, ease of
driving, and simple design provided millions with basic, cheap, and reliable
transportation. It's easily recognizable shape dotted the landscape from New
York to Paris to Berlin and beyond, and became an icon for a generation in the
1960s and 1970s. when you choose to purchase a Volkswagen you are immediately
making a statement about yourself and the lifestyle you aspire towards.Choice
also reflects values. The person who drives a tomato red 1971 Volkswagen until
rust leaves nothing for the floorboards to cling to is making a statement
about how she wants to spend her money and what she cares about. We say, “That
dress isn’t me” or “I’m not a cat person.” In choosing, you indicate what
matters to you and how you perceive yourself. Looking at it from barthes
perspective, we could say that, we are not just purchasing the aspirational
lifestyle but we are buying into the myth. This myth has constantly changed
along the Volkswagen historical timeline. To the German public in 1939, the
Volkswagen represented and reflected the Nazi ideals of conformity and
equality and the myth was that this car could unify the people through mass
production at an economical price. yet, today we can see that the beetle is a
personal statement purporting the myth that the car is a signifier of freedom
and individuality. We need to investigate what this signifier means and how
and why the meaning can change. It will be interesting to discover why people
today continue to buy used Volkswagens and why is there such a devoted
following. Today the beetle, when we compare it to other vehicles, lacks even
basic comforts such as heating, gives very poor crash protection, is
uneconomical to run and maintain yet is loved and cherished by millions of
owners worldwide. We shall look at surveys of Volkswagen owners to decide what
it is about the car that makes it so unique. Why is the Volkswagen considered
to be “fun, practical, reliable and full of charm and character”? How does
this myth become established? Do people by the car so as to obtain a certain
lifestyle? So that they can be perceived as being “fun, quirky and
individual”?and how it has come to attain a cult- like status whereby the
meaning or sign of the car has been superseded by its own myth. Finally, I
shall be concluding the cultural biography of Volkswagen, with a personal
reference, detailing my own experiences with a Volkswagen combi traveling
25,000 miles around Australia living in the vehicle over a one year period.
What My perceived expectations were and how they changed the longer the
relationship between myself and the vehicle lasted. I shall be describing how
the vehicle can obtain a character either through innate design or personal
interactions and its own in-built idiosyncratic attributes. Was a vehicle part
of the lifestyle or was the lifestyle part of the vehicle?
_Bibliography _
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 1) A history of modern art;
painting-sculpture-architecture-photography. Author: H.H. Arnason - Marla F.
Prather Publisher: Thames and Hudson 1998 Chapter 21, Page 508: Pop art and
Europe’s New Realism It explores the increasing use of everyday objects and
images from the popular culture into art in the 1960s with the birth of Pop
art, Happenings, environments, assemblages and Nouveau realism, that emerged
simultaneously in the USA and European countries. Particularly Pop art in
Britain with the work of Richard Hamilton, Eduardo Paolozzi, Peter Blake and
David Hockney. The Neo-Dada and Pop art in the United States in the work of
Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Jonhs, Allan Kaprow, Red Grooms, George Segal,
Claes Oldenburg etc. 2) Modern Art; Impressionism to Post-Modernism Edited by:
David Britt Publisher: Thames and Hudson 1989 Chapter 7, Page 305: Pop The
vitally important idea that artists must deal withe the contemporary world and
with life as well as with art is the basis of Pop art. Pop art looks on to the
20th century world and particularly no to New York and London where it was
born. It is rooted in an urban environment and looks at aspects of that urban
environment that weren’t previously considered apt for use in art. This
chapter deals with Pop art looking at it in a geographical approach first
looking at New York, from the early 1900s and Marcel Duchamp’s ready-mades
influence through Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns to Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselman,
etc. to the USA West coast and the influence of Hollywood and other west coast
phenomena. The development of Pop art in London with the work of Paolozzi,
Bacon and finally of its Pop’s counterparts in continental Europe. 3) Pop art;
A critical history Edited by: Steven Henry Madoff Publisher: University of
California Press 1997 It’s a collection of articles and essays by established
artists, critics and writers on the subject of Pop art and its emergence and
establishment as one of the major forces in modern art. It includes the essay
by Roland Barthes, “That old thing, art...” which I used for my critical
analysis in the present paper. 4) Pollock and after: the critical debate
Edited by: Francis Frascina Publisher: Paul Chapman Publishing ltd A
collection of articles and essays mainly from the 1970s and 80s that
constitute a debate about modernist history. 5) Pop art Author: Tim Osterwold
Publisher: Taschen 1991 Revisits the history of Pop art, its themes, sources
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motivation, inspiration and legacy. Rauschenberg has created art in a range of
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vol II Author: Ruhrberg - Schneckenberger - Fricke - Honnef Publisher: Taschen
1998 Chapter 9, page 509: “The ubiquitous ready-made” It talks about the fact
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their culture and what influence had Duchamp on the 1960s art scene. 10) Andy
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Smith Publisher: Yale university press 1998 The author argues that Modernism
deserves recognition as a period style. Smithe renames this period
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and the first world war, was institutionalised between wars and flourished
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Publisher: Cambridge University press 1997 The author analyses Pop art and the
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July/August 1997 Questions wether painting is still a valid means of artistic
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formal values. It also explores other possibilities as Duchamp’s invention of
the ready-made which challenged the whole basis of the painter’s activity and
the fact that painting and drawing are no longer the only way of making and
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15) Article. This is now: Becoming Robert Rauschenberg Author: Dave Hickey
Magazine: Artforum, Sept 1997 In occasion of Robert Rauschenberg’s 1997
retrospective at the NY Guggenheim Museum, Dave Hickey tries to imagine the
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asks wether Robert Rauschenberg is America’s greatest artist of all time.
Author: Frederick Castle Magazine: Art Monthly, Nov 1997 A retrospective on
Rauschenberg’s 1997 retrospective at the NY Guggenheim Museum.
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