The Bascom opens classic car exhibition ahead of Motoring Festival
Classic cars rolled into the parking lot of The Bascom Center for Visual Arts on Friday afternoon and this time they didn’t stop in between the white lines.
As part of the “FreeWheeling: The Allure of the Automobile in Contemporary Art” exhibition, three incredible classic cars with unique backstories made their way inside the Bunzl Gallery.
“This has been a big project to get the gallery ready to house three vehicles, but I think it has really turned out great,” Billy Love, The Bascom Creative Director, said. “In order to get the cars inside we had to take the building apart and remove the doors completely. Luckily, we have a staff that is able and willing to do that.”
FreeWheeling is being produced in coordination with the Highlands Motoring Festival. The annual showcase of classic cars will return to Highlands for a four-day run June 10-13. The festival features dozens of unique cars taking part in driving tours, a parade on Main Street and a car show at Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park on June 12.
The “Cars in the Park” car show is a juried display of approximately 90 invited automobiles. The featured marque for 2021 is titled “Pure Bloods d’Italia” for Italian super cars from the 60’s and 70’s.
The exhibition at The Bascom is the first of its kind in Highlands.
“We are very excited to partner with The Bascom to add to what we both do as organizations,” Highlands Motoring Festival organizer Steve Ham said. “This exhibition will feature some one-of-a-kind vehicles, including a 1966 Ferrari that is one of only eight ever produced. The first three cars in the exhibition are a 1954 Jaguar that was once owned by Clark Gable, a 1963 split window Corvette and a classic 1965 ‘real’ 427 Cobra.”
The first three vehicles cruised under the covered bridge and into view of a small groups of awe-struck onlookers Friday afternoon. The beautiful weather allowed for photo opportunities before the business of driving the vehicles into the building began.
The Bascom exhibitions manager Zachary Rogers and facilities manager Maurice Laderoot took on the task of prepping the gallery and positioning the cars.
“Seeing the cars inside the gallery surrounded by so many amazing works of art is going to be very exciting for our visitors,” Rogers said. “The Motoring Festival has been great to work with and I know we are all excited to see it come together.”
Freewheeling: The Allure of the Automobile in Contemporary Art, curated by Knight Martorell, will be on display from May 13 through Aug. 11. The Bascom is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call 828-526-4949.
“FreeWheeling intends to position the viewer within the dynamic dialogue between automobiles displayed as exceptional examples of functional art and the artwork these machines inspire,” Martorell said. “A contributing subplot within the FreeWheeling experience is the inherent dichotomy of functional works of art. It is my personal conviction that the purpose of art is to alter one’s perception such that, upon turning away from a painting or sculpture, the viewer now considers the world around them a little differently. Humans can be sentimental creatures, but nostalgia and sentimentality that only serves to soothe and bolster preexisting perceptions and emotions should never be its sole intention.”