Carhenge rises in East Vancouver
Credit to Author: John Mackie| Date: Sun, 06 Oct 2019 21:02:37 +0000
One day Andrew Huggard spotted an ad for a Mini-Cooper in the “free” section of Craigslist. But it wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill Mini-Cooper — this one had been sliced in half.
Huggard grabbed it, bought it home and planted it in his front yard near Second and Lillooet in East Van.
“I tried to do a bit of a funky scene,” he explains. “I had this sort of spaceship idea, because I had a huge prop from a movie set, and I have an annual party … I’ll probably make them part of the party as the entrance way.”
It’s indeed a funky scene. The front of the car is on one side of his sidewalk, the back on the other, and the pieces jut out of the ground at an angle, like they’ve been flung into the ground from the heavens.
“It’s a fibreglass shell, it’s not a real car,” he explains. “If it was real the city would really have a problem with it.
“The city inspector (came by and) mentioned that in the front of the house you have to have (a piece) below five feet, you can’t have any ornaments or large objects like this. But the backyard is OK.”
Don’t tell the city inspector, but Huggard also has a nine-foot-tall fibreglass beer bottle in his front yard.
“My landlord’s not that impressed (with the Mini-Cooper),” said Huggard. “But the nine-foot beer bottle he likes.”
Huggard is attracted to items like this because he’s an artisan and musician who likes to make art out of “strange things.”
“I’ve had fun doing a bit of treasure hunting, having fun with stuff that people are discarding, or that businesses get rid of,” said the 47-year-old, who sometimes dresses in a gorilla suit to deliver a singing telegram.
In this case, he thinks the Mini-Cooper came from a local dealership. Because it’s fibreglass and has no engine, it’s light enough to mount on a pole or roof. But it’s still pretty heavy.
“It probably weighs 200 pounds, 250 maybe,” he said. “My neighbour Sam comes over and lends me muscle moving something here and there. He always goes, ‘You’ve got too much stuff.’ ”
Ten paint-layered, half-buried Cadillacs have been a roadside attraction outside Amarillo, Tex., for more than four decades. Visitors to Cadillac Ranch are invited to spray away, but also advised their work will likely be overtaken by other artsy visitors within weeks. — Postmedia News
In any event, Huggard’s Mini-Coopers are reminiscent of a couple of famous art installations in the U.S., Cadillac Ranch (where 10 Caddies are half-buried in the ground in Amarillo, Tex.) and Carhenge (a replica of Stonehenge using cars in Alliance, Neb).
Making art out of old cars also has a history in Vancouver. Somebody installed their own car-sculpture (with giant fins, no less) in the front yard of a home near General Gordon school in Kitsilano. Artist Marcus Bowcott placed five cars on top of a tree stump in the 1200-block of Quebec Street for the 2015 Vancouver Biennale, and Trans-Am Totem has become a local icon.
“I have a classic Trans-Am,” notes Huggard. “Seeing (the Trans-Am) at the top, it’s like, ‘Gee, I could use some parts.’ ”
Andrew Huggard has installed a Mini-Cooper as a sculpture in the front yard of his house in East Vancouver. There are two parts to the car, which is a flbreglass replica, not the real deal. He also has a nine-foot-tall beer bottle, which can be glimpsed at the back.