Photo: Girl posing with 1959 Ford Fairlane. (“Betty, go stand by the Fairlane and let me snap your picture.”)
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, many people considered their Ford Fairlanes valued members of their families. The car boasted a beautiful design that inspired love and devotion among its owners.
“Vision without execution is just hallucination.” HENRY FORD
Photos: Stoskopfs with 1957 Ford Fairlane, John C. Stoskopf, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
During the past few months, we’ve written posts about Dennis Hopper‘s love of photography. These include several posts about his iconic photograph “Double Standard” and a post about his self-portraits. We’ve noted that much of the daily traffic to the Silver Birch Press blog comes through search engines — and every day people are searching for articles about Dennis Hopper, photographer.
While visiting San Francisco in 1964, Hopper shot the photo reproduced above. Called “The only ism for me is Abstract Expressionism,” the photo speaks volumes about Hopper and the owner of the Plymouth with license plate JQR661.
Hopper’s photos are often witty and filled with irony — and this one is no exception — and he seems to revel in the bumper sticker’s proclamation that, for some, art takes the place of politics, philosophy, and religion. In 1964, most of the people who felt this way drove old (this model is probably from the late 1940s or early 1950s) cars and were proud of it!
For the record, the leading abstract expressionist artists were Jackson Pollack, Willem de Kooning, and Mark Rothko.
Photo: “The only ism for me is abstract expressionism” by Dennis Hopper, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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