The Hood Gallery
Elizabeth Wild installation view from Hood Gallery 2003
The Hood Gallery was a mobile art gallery that travelled the streets and freeways of Los Angeles County in California, USA, between 2001 to 2003. The actual gallery space was the outside of a 1990 Chevy Camaro XS hardtop. Each month for the duration of the gallery’s existence a different artist altered the exterior of the car. This unexpected context allowed a number international artist to create exhibitions that highlighted political issues in a way that would never have been possible in a normal gallery setting or in a more traditional exhibition in a public space. The gallery was founded and run by Swedish artist Per Hüttner who claimed that “art should be seen on the freeways of California” .
Exhibitions
The Hood Gallery took a clear ironic, politically incorrect stance. In the press release for the inaugural exhibition “En Route” by French artist Karine Bonneval, it was stated that “The Hood Gallery is a certified iso 'V8' environmentally unfriendly organisation which supports the efforts of the oil and petrochemical industry.”
This stance gained momentum with the outbreak of the Iraq War. In the March 2003 exhibition “Oil=Blood” Los Angeles based artist Todd Feldman painted simplified black and red drops with an equals sign between them in different sizes around the white body of the car, cerating a direct link between private consumption and the outbreak of the war.
Still seduced and revolted by the macho status of the car, Australian artist Jane Polkinghorne covered the hood of the car with pink chewing gum. When the engine heated the car, it emitted a clear scent of artificial strawberry. This simple gesture made the virile car clash with the teenage prom girl room aesthetics and opening both parallel and paradoxical interpretations.
Elizabeth Wild’s exhibition, “Snoozing on Sunset Strip” continued to look at identity issues. She painted the entire hood of the car in a blood red colour. On top of the monochrome hood of the Camaro was an imposing photographic image of her old father fast asleep. In his review of the exhibition in Cologne-based art magazine “Site”, art critic Rudi Heinrichsen wrote:
" The exhibition is a journey of memories, missed opportunities, and a tribute to the weird unpredictability that the voyage of life offers us. It raises questions about ageing, male identity, and the love/hate relationship that most of have to our background and family. The fact that it is displayed on the bonnet of the car adds much magic to the piece. I have to admit that along with the Museum of Jurassic Technology, The Hood Gallery was the most memorable art experience in California."
The Hood Gallery in literature
Berlin based author Sarah Quigley claims that the impetus for her novel Shot is based on experiences in the Hood Gallery.