Pasadena Art Center Invitational

Text by Wallace Wyss –

Photographs by Richard Bartholowmew and Wallace Wyss – 

I was a little wrong on this one in my advance story, I thought t was all going to be Italian cars. There were in fact British cars, American cars, and even some prototype concept cars, presumably designed by graduates of Art Center College of Design, perhaps the most famous car design school in the U.S.

But there still were some great examples of Italian cars like Lamborghini Miura, a Lamborghini Countach, a Maserati Ghibli, several Lancias, half a dozen Alfa Romeos, a DeTomaso Mangusta and Pantera. And even a beach buggy by Fiat–what rich people used to take on their yachts so when they landed on an island they would have something to toodle about in.

One oddball was an Italian-bodied Triumph, maybe a TR3 or TR4. The owner, Kurt Oblinger, told me it had been stored outside for many years so basically he had to build a new floor structure.

One astonishing car, in that GM spent the money for a custom one off body on such a common model, was a Corvair with an Italian body, maybe by Pininfarina. It still had some design flaws but overall looked to be a more cohesive design than what GM offered.

I didn’t meet the owner so was unable to find out if he or she bought it from Pininfarina or from GM. I think to own a concept car is a great thing–a tribute to the coachbuilder and a tribute to the chassis maker.

Nowadays American automakers  don’t sell their leftover concept cars after their show career is over,  for fear of breaking emissions and safety laws since, because they are show cars, there’s no attempt to meet those regulations (though it is possible to pay a shop to bring it into conformation as an American just did recently with a Pininfarina concept car built on a Ferrari 206SP racing chassis).

One very oddball car, and I won’t attempt to translate the name was a four door sedan that looked Mercedes-styled from a distance. It was a Chinese car built to be the main car for the Premier of China, and apparently this was the first one the company made, partly designed by an Art Center grad who landed his first the job after graduation going to  China to work on it and found it very secretive because the Chinese didn’t want the world to know they were using American talent.

How the person displaying the Chinese sedan got it in the country is a mystery–maybe it isn’t driven on the road. There was an owner of a very new model Ferrari, one of the most powerful mid-engine coupes, the Pasadena area’s most famous Ferrari collector, a Mr. David Lee. a jeweler by trade who  recently got a lot of publicity by buying of the few  250GTOs, a car that rarely crosses an auction stage.

Only one student had his own art work on display (in past years there were more booths with student work) beautiful car paintings with a lot of mood. I talked to him and now he is working with developing drones. He didn’t say if they were military but I’ll send him the address of Andruil, an Orange County company making headlines with their new defense designs.

The best part of this show was meeting former designers or even currently employed ones,and finding out what cars they worked on during their careers. Also at different tables I’d hear discussions of new projects. There was even a table of books on car design.

Art Center College now has a downtown building added to their teaching locations  but I didn’t find out if car design is still taught in the hilltop location where it has been located for the last few decades. I hope it is because it is an inspiration to be on a campus surrounded by mountains in the distance.

Comparing this show to others, is not quite comparable, as there were fewer cars, I’d say 35-50, than most shows. The San Marino concours which takes place nearby (gala June 13, show June 14th) will have easily 3 times as many cars plus an artist display. But the Art Center is an ideal show for  those interested in the car design profession , an opportunity  to converse with actual designers.

One of their most famous graduates, who was displaying a car was Franz Von Holhausen, who has been the chief designer for Testa ever since the firm’s first sports car was phased out in favor of sedans. He was displaying a fly yellow Ferrari 275GTB/4 and I am glad he is so financially successful that he could afford a million dollar Ferrari classic. He had to make the decision to quit as a GM designer when hired by Elon Musk and looks like it was the right choice. He also owns some famous real estate–homes that belonged to celebrities that are bound to appreciate.

The food there was only coffee and muffins–I was hoping the $35/ea. entrance fee for spectators would cover a real meal but, hey, the important thing there was the people. They also had live music and if you could stand in the shade (it was over 88 deg.F) it was a comfortable show to be at.

I congratulate Art Center for thinking of a show that must seem a bit  like “Old Home Week” for many of the attendees,  former graduates gossiping left and right about what everybody’s doing and where they ended up somewhere in the far flung car design world.

Let us know what you think in the Comments.

THE AUTHOR Wallace Wyss is a former car historian (18 books) who has segued over to fine art (doing portrayals of Ferraris and the like.) For a list of URLs showing his work, write photojournalistpro2@gmail.com

Richard Bartholomew is an artist and photographer based in Southern California. Visit his Facebook page here. He is open to interesting consignments and can be reached at zeroagenow@aol.com

More photos are in the slide show below.

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Summary

Article Name

Pasadena Art Center Invitational

Description

I congratulate Art Center for thinking of a show that must seem a bit like "Old Home Week" for many of the attendees, former graduates gossiping left and right about what everybody's doing and where they ended up somewhere in the far flung car design world.

Author

Wallace Wyss