Pleins Phares: Art and Automobiles at Cité de l'automobile

The exhibition "Pleins Phares" at the Cité de l'automobile in Mulhouse, France, from September 20, 2007 to January 31, 2008, explores the relationship between contemporary art and automobiles. Curated by Fabienne Fulchéri, the show is set in the world's largest automobile museum, where artworks are displayed alongside historic cars like Panhard, Delage, and Bugatti. The exhibition begins with an analogy between the human body and the vehicle, featuring Arman's dissected engine and Stéphane Couturier's assembly line photographs. Childhood is evoked through Pierre Ardouvin's bumper car and Jeremy Dickinson's paintings of miniature cars. Adolescence and carnal desires appear in Franck Scurti's video of a man licking his car hood and Sylvie Fleury's video referencing rap videos. Customized vehicles include prototypes by Panamarenko and Alain Bublex, and Nicolas Floc'h's Simca Aronde covered in lycra and mesh, turned into a speaker by Jérôme Poret. The risk of accident is humorously addressed in Pierre Giner's video game where the driver's perspective never aligns with the road. Frédéric Vaesen's Porsche is painted in six primary and complementary colors, theoretically making it invisible at speed. Chris Gilmour's cardboard Aston Martin renders James Bond's car unable to undertake missions. The exhibition suggests a need for a larger historical show on the subject.