Wednesday, October 22, 2008


Mini Cooper painted by the artist Alan Aldridge, a graphic designer known for his work in the 1960s on album covers and posters. (Design Museum)

By coincidence, another painted car went on display on Oct. 10 at the Design Museum in London, as part of an exhibition called “The Man With Kaleidoscope Eyes,” devoted to the work of Alan Aldridge, an artist and graphic designer known for his work in the 1960s on album covers and posters for the Beatles, Rolling Stones, the Who and other groups.

Mr. Aldridge has painted a new Mini. It is divided down the middle with male images on one side and female images on the other. It is the driver’s side that is the blue male side and the passenger side is the pink-themed female side.

The new Mini recapitulates an earlier project by Mr. Aldridge, carried out in 1965. Mr. Aldridge painted an original Mini for The Sunday Times Magazine in London to illustrate a story called Automania, contrasting the auto lifestyles of a boy racer and a suburban housewife. The Design Museum show continues through Jan. 25.

Article via wheels blog NYTimes