1. Can a modified car be classed as Art?
of corse, its an object of individual expression. its not only an art form but with all the different kind of modification sytles (OEM, OEM+, retro, rat, scene, or whatever) but car modification is almost like medium for a post modernist visual language of its own.
something that might he helpful/interesting for your research would be to have a read about kandinsky, and his involvement at the bauhaus. and also about his theory of the inner (or the self) and the outer (physical surrounding). especially with the way that car modification is going, its interesting to see the how post modern design aesthetic has gone full circle without the majority society having a clue about what and how the world around it has come to be what it is.
2. What does the modifying scene mean to you?
putting your own mark on a car. you kinda grow out of most hobbies you have as a kid, and tinkering away at the weekends is a nice place to get away from the every day sh!t for me, even if it mostly involves a lot of swearing. plus its a nice way to make friends and share enthusiasm. subtle clean changes are a win for me. a little bit of bling is nice, but polished engine bays do nothing to be. i like to see a car being used and enjoyed doing what it was designed to do - being driven.
3. Do you think the scene is male dominated? If so why?
although there is more female interest emerging like on the edition forum, i think thats just the way the world works. im sure theres alot more female enthusiasts that don't get noticed, or maybe just over shadowed.
4. What is so appealing about car shows, and what is your reason for attending? eg. Inspiration, meeting other car enthusiast etc.
for me its just nice to see what people have done to their cars, its nice to see people thinking methods, its usually quite an interesting expression of them selves, like a self portrait so to speak. i like the networking aspect of it, although i haven't managed to get to any shows with working over summer since ive been at uni. its nice to walk around a show, enjoy the cars and talk to other like minded people about something other than what they have done to the car recently.
5. Why do you modify your chosen car? Is it for a spot on the cover of a magazine? e.g. PVW etc. nope. its just because i like the look and sound old german cars. much in the same way as i like old german/swiss graphics and typography. plus I'm a tad sentimental and like to look after my little mk2 even if it is only a 1.6 driver - probably the most cherished item i own at present.
do you think images of our scene could be interesting to people that are not apart of it ? if images of our shows where put in a gallery space with artists, photographers and filmmakers all viewing them what do you think they would make of them ?
definatly, i think composition has alot to do with it, wide shots of a whole car can be boring. i like the low angle, heavily cropped images with paint reflections that you see on the likes of g-werks, and rotiforms facebook pages. some nice montage there aswell
