iPetersen Automotive Museum · Miracle Mile
Flat Out: The Art of Joshua Vides
LA artist Joshua Vides hand-paints black outlines onto real cars in a mechanic's garage scene, flattening them into what looks like a 2D sketch.
Even the soda machine has been outlined. Joshua Vides coated tire stacks, gas pumps, a vending machine and five real cars in white, then traced every edge and seam in black until it all reads as a comic-book drawing. It took him nine days.
This is his first museum show: the 1st-floor Armand Hammer Foundation Gallery turned into a mechanic's shop, with a "Vides Auto Body" sign and checkered flags overhead. You walk in among the cars, including a De Tomaso Longchamp, a Citroën SM and a Porsche 944, and they keep flattening into line work. In a city that spends a fortune keeping its paintwork perfect, these five got painted white and outlined like a doodle.
Hagerty called it "one of the more interesting exhibits we've seen at the Petersen." Urdesignmag found the painted room more interesting than the cars. It's included with admission: $52 for adults and $25 for ages 4 to 11, both with the Vault, until 5 July 2027.
Look for
The Vides Auto Body sign
Look up at the arched opening: a "Vides Auto Body" sign sits above it, with checkered flags strung across the ceiling, all in black line on white.
The De Tomaso Longchamp and Citroën SM
Two cars Hagerty says you rarely see in Los Angeles, both whited out and traced in black so they read as drawings you can walk around.
The hoods on the wall
Loose car hoods hang on the wall with the same hand-drawn treatment, where Hagerty found the effect works well.
The soda vending machine
Even the soft-drink machine, the mirrors and the stacks of wheels got the outline, so nothing in the garage keeps its colour.
The Mercedes under NO PARKING
Look for the Mercedes parked beneath a painted "NO PARKING" graphic, its lines doubled in the reflective floor.
Good for
- An Hour Or Less
- Locals Who've Seen It All
- Teenagers
Skip if
You come to the Petersen for paintwork: every car here is white with black lines.
With kids
Tickets for ages 4 to 11 are $25 and include the Vault.
Also at Petersen Automotive Museum
On now nearby
Nearby
Image credits
8
- Flat Out: The Art of Joshua VidesCourtesy of Petersen Automotive Museum
- Screenwriting: Takes on LA NoirCourtesy of Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
- Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood IconCourtesy of Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
- Studio Ghiblis PONYOCourtesy of Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
- Petersen Automotive MuseumDavid Zaitz / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Academy Museum of Motion PicturesDowntowngal / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)ArchEyes Magazine / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
- Craft ContemporaryPaul Esposito / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain