EDWARD KIENHOLZ

"Una vita contro"


THE WORKS

" Roxy's "

" The illegal operation "

" The Nativity "

" The birthday "

" While visions of sugar plums 
   danced in their heads "
   
" The back seat Doge '38 "

" The wait "

" The Beanery "

" The state hospital "

" The eleventh hour final "

" The portable war memorial "

" Five car stud "

" The concept tableaux "

THE BACK SEAT DODGE '38  - 1964

Paints, fiberglass and flock, 1938 Dodge, chicken wire, beer bottles, artificial grass, cast plaster figure.

“The back seat Dodge ‘38”, springs from the experiences of millions of American adolescents caught maturing sexual appetites in a society which demands virginity and Victorian marriage. Kienholz has mirrored the inside of the car, again making the viewer a participating voyeur. lt is interesting to note that most people read this “tableau” as containing two figures, when in reality there is a male form (chicken wire) and portions of the female form (cast plaster), with both joining in one communal head. While the trappings and decorations must be dated in the early 1940’s (Kienholz’ youth), the operating radio also makes the piece immediate and contemporary.