The theme of this year's Art Deco weekend is the automobile. After a brief rainstorm the owners immediately began rubbing chamois cloths over their antique cars lined up on Ocean Drive, among them this Chevrolet from the 1950s. The cars look more than brand-new; they seem hyper-real.
I prefer corroded metal and glass, which I've piled in this dish. The larger pieces have been run over. I picked them up in the road. Most of the coins I found on the beach, close to the water, flung up on the tide, tarnished, pocked, limed, corroded, stained verdigris. There's a sand-blasted bottom of a beer bottle, and a looped wire specked with lime.
They require no polish.
nice.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Mim. I prefer the worn and old to the hyper real. These coins and discarded objects seem to have a history and life that the antique cars - buffed to a gleam beyond what would have been imaginable in their old lives - lack.
ReplyDeleteYou've offered us a great series of portraits here, Mim - thank you.
ReplyDeleteAs with you and Elisabeth (hello, Elisabeth), it's the old, salt-encrusted coins and weathered treasures that draw me in. Their faces are the ones I'd want to touch, turn in my hands, explore. The vintage car with its highly polished face is pretty and seductive, but, well... then what? I'd want to pick away the paintwork (horror of horrors!) to see the history that lies beneath the gloss.
Polished surfaces can play tricks on a person, don't you find?
I must admit, I love seeing honest evidence of life in a face (although I will admit to sometimes doing a double-take when I see the scratches and rust marks appearing on my own face these days!)
My aging face is a bit speckled too, Claire.
ReplyDeleteI like the way corrosion puts money in its proper place with other rusting things. Yesterday I came home from the beach with a metal bottle cap so worn and pocked it had lost its brand name.
Yours for un-branding!
Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteLovely to hear from you, T. Clear. Wishing you treasures!
ReplyDeleteMim
Thank you for the lovely comment, apologies for the lack of broadcasting of late.
ReplyDeleteI must say, while I'm not so keen on the almost futuristic 1950's designs, our modern vehicles are so bland..
The coins are lovely, some of my favourite things just turned up in the course of a long walk.
LW x
Mim, I found you at last! Now I can follow you in all your wonderful peregrinations.
ReplyDeleteMelisa
We have a 57 210 post Chevy in the garage. I found it. The Surfer bought it. It's not all that shiny because he actually drives it. We call the other ones Trailer Queens because that's where they live most of the time.
ReplyDeleteOh, Mim, I love that car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd get in it in an instant, drive away, completely happy...............be-u-ti-ful....................
ReplyDeleteHere's to beautiful rust. I'm so glad to hear from you all.
ReplyDeleteHI Mim - I am holding 'The Dark Opens' in my hands! What a thrill to meet you out here in the cyber community and now to have something tangible to engage with. I have left a message for you in answer to your comment on my blog this morning.
ReplyDeleteSmiling!
So kind of you, Claire!
ReplyDelete