taking collection seriously
I am featured in an article about collecting by Mike Antonucci in Stanford Alumni Magazine this month – [Link] My point – respect the nuances of the collector’s passion. (How can I not think of Walter Benjamin’s celebration of book collection – “Unpacking my library: a talk about book collecting” – see my recent post [...]
historical significance
Does it matter – historically speaking? Just what does that mean? I am helping David Kelley, Jon Feiber, Reilly Brennan, Cliff Nass and our friends in the Revs Program with a class that is exploring the nature of historical significance. In d.school style we are asking the class to come up with the answers. Just [...]
speed
Cliff Nass and I have started our seminar – Cars: past, present, future. The project – automotive archaeology. This week – motor sports. Speed as zeitgeist. I am rereading Jeffrey Schnapp’s wonderful collection Speed Limits. Here is Marinetti – February 1909: We affirm that the magnificence of the world has been enriched by the advent [...]
connoisseurship of the car
I am back from an extraordinary symposium at Miles Collier’s Revs Institute in Florida, exploring the world of collectable cars at this end of an era. The engine note, the feedback through steering wheel from rubber tyre grip, the scent of warm motor oil, the conversation by the gas station on the road trip, will be history [...]
when the everyday becomes history and heritage
A couple of months ago Road&Track were about to throw out their old office collection of back issues, photographs, notes, books, promotional literature sent them by car companies, and all manner of paperwork reaching back to the late 1940s when the magazine, one of the most famous and respected in the automotive world, was founded. [...]
on the road to Auto Archive 3.0
The Revs Program at Stanford is developing a dynamic archive of automotive history using the cutting edge skills and technology of Stanford Libraries. It will offer online access to an exceptional library of resources plus powerful facilities for anyone in the automotive past to collect, annotate, upload and share their interests and knowledge – a [...]
cars – past, present, future – the case of automotive heritage
On Wednesday evenings this quarter I have been hosting a series of conversations with colleagues at Stanford and beyond about the world of cars – past, present and future. Sponsorship has come from our Revs Program and Stanford Continuing Studies [Link] With a very sharp and expert audience we covered a tremendous amount of ground, [...]
designing for difference? Chris Bangle at Revs
Chris Bangle, car designer, was at the Stanford Revs Program this evening. He’s a superb speaker and came with some great stories, on the back of his notorious leadership of the BMW design team, about how cars might begin again to look more distinctive, when so many today look so bland, just the same as [...]
automotive archaeology and the physiognomy of a car
Fred Simeone’s new book about the conservation and preservation of cars is out today, launched at Bonhams’s “Preserving the Automobile” auction at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, Philadelphia, – [Link]. Fred is prompting a reevaluation of car collecting with his support for sensitive preservation rather than restoration. There have been two preservation classes of cars [...]
automotive connoisseurship
Palo Alto Concours d’Elegance – . Taking a tour with Jon Summers. What are the values and principles that govern the collection of cars? Just what are the values applied to these extraordinary artifacts? Age, elegance, finish, rarity, historical significance, market value … These are questions of automotive connoisseurship.
Paul Ingrassia – 15 cars for America
Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Ingrassia was with our Revs Program yesterday at the VAIL Facility of CARS (the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford). He was sharing with us his superb new book: Engines of Change: A History of the American Dream in 15 Cars. Written in his crisp and elegant prose, the book [...]
racing experiences (2) – Laguna Seca
A fascinating week for the Revs Program at Laguna Seca Racetrack. Coordinated effort to document the driving experience – historic cars – and the community who cherish automotive heritage. Raising the profile of automotive studies, taking seriously this vital iconic part of the contemporary past. As Mark Gessler – HVA (Historic Vehicle Association) and FIVA [...]