Cars and highways have long been evoked in images, narratives, and songs. This near-utopian relationship, however, has come under increasingly intense scrutiny from a wide range of cultural and environmental perspectives. Running on Empty presents the work of artists who consider the seductions and disillusionments in our longstanding infatuation with the car. Works of various disciplines situate the car as a mediating force in our relationship with mobility and the land, and explore the interconnection of industry and the natural world where expeditions have unexpected consequences, bucolic scenes become a blur, idyllic scenarios are mere fabrications, and history repeats itself. One of the key cultural references cited is Jean-Luc Goddard's 1967 film Weekend. Participating artists: Kim Adams (sculpture/installation), John Massey (photography), Kate Puxley (taxidermy/installation), Shayne Ehman and Seth Scriver (film), Monica Tap (painting) and Elinor Whidden (installation/photography).
The car and the highway as evoked in contemporary art.
