Kustom Kulture
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
(Difference between revisions)
| Revision as of 18:26, 16 May 2018 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 18:30, 16 May 2018 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) Next diff → |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | '''''The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby''''' is the title of [[Tom Wolfe]]'s first collected book of [[essay]]s, published in 1965. The book is named for one of the stories in the collection that was originally published in ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire magazine]]'' in 1963 under the title "There Goes (Varoom! Varoom!) That Kandy-Kolored (Thphhhhhh!) Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby (Rahghhh!) Around the Bend (Brummmmmmmmmmmmmmm)…" Wolfe's essay for ''Esquire'' and this, his first book, are frequently heralded as early examples of [[New Journalism]]. | + | '''Kustom Kulture''' is an [[United States|American]] [[neologism]] used to describe the [[art]]works, [[vehicle]]s, [[hairstyle]]s, and [[fashion]]s of those who drove and built [[custom car]]s and [[Custom (motorcycle)|motorcycles]] in the [[United States of America]] from the 1950s through today. |
| - | + | ||
| - | == Essays == | + | |
| - | In the introduction to the book, Wolfe says that when writing the titular essay for ''Esquire'' in 1963, a look at the world of [[custom car]]s, he suffered from a severe case of writer's block. As his deadline approached, Wolfe compiled his notes, without much concern for the standard conventions of writing, and submitted them to his editor [[Byron Dobell]]. Dobell is said to have simply removed the salutation "Dear Byron" and run Wolfe's notes as the article. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Wolfe's account of the custom car culture centers on [[Ed Roth]], one of the fathers of the [[Kustom Kulture]] movement and [[George Barris (auto customizer)|George Barris]], who had a completely different philosophy of customizing cars (Barris' pure art approach, as compared to Roth's cars that were still designed for drivers), but called himself the "King of the Kustomizers." | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | The 22 essays in the book share no particular unifying theme other than Wolfe's experimental techniques in non-fiction writing. Subjects that crop up in this work, and continue throughout Wolfe's career, include his interests in status, culture, form and style. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Other major essays in the collection include, "Las Vegas (What?) Las Vegas (Can't hear you! Too noisy) Las Vegas!!!!", an early look at how outrageous [[Las Vegas Strip|Las Vegas]] was becoming, before the city was as well known as it is today; or "The Fifth Beatle" and "The First Tycoon of Teen" which profiled pop-music figures [[Murray the K]] and [[Phil Spector]]. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | The essay that many critics have considered the strongest is "The Last American Hero," a profile of [[Junior Johnson]], an early star of the [[stock car racing]] world and [[NASCAR]]. In looking at a single day at the races, Wolfe also examines the rise of the race day culture, how it is a stark contrast to the [[Grand Prix motor racing]] popular in Europe. ''[[The Last American Hero]]'' was made into a film in 1973, starring [[Jeff Bridges]] as Junior Johnson. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | == Writing style == | + | |
| - | As the title of the book indicates, Wolfe liberally uses colorful language. In addition, he makes frequent use of [[onomatopoeia]], and uses all manner of type: capitalization, italics, multiple exclamation points, dashes, etc. Another characteristic of Wolfe's writing is switching from highly technical or scientific explanations to very colloquial turns of phrase, often within a single sentence. And, just as Wolfe uses medical jargon when describing the body, he uses commercial language when describing products and slang and vulgarity when chronicling sub-cultures. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Most of these techniques remain hallmarks of Wolfe's writing style throughout his career, including in his publications following ''The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby'': ''[[The Pump House Gang]]'', another collection of essays, and ''[[The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test]]'', Wolfe's chronicle of [[Ken Kesey]] and the [[Merry Pranksters]]. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | == Publication == | + | |
| - | When first published, ''The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby'' directed booksellers to stock the book in the [[sociology]] section of book stores. Many versions of the book are headed by an incomplete quotation from [[Kurt Vonnegut]]: "Verdict: Excellent book by a genius." Vonnegut's full quotation was "Verdict: Excellent book by a genius who will do anything to get attention." In the same review [[Kurt Vonnegut]] wrote: "Interestingly: the most tender piece in this collection depends upon a poem by [[Rudyard Kipling]] for depth, and has [[Huntington Hartford]] for its hero." | + | |
| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | * [[Kenny Howard]] (Von Dutch) | ||
| + | * [[Ed Roth]] | ||
| + | * [[Robert Williams (artist)|Robert Williams]] | ||
| + | * [[Custom car]] | ||
| + | * [[Hot rod]] | ||
| + | * [[Rat Fink]] | ||
| + | * [[Rat rod]] | ||
| + | * [[Biker cross]] | ||
| + | * [[Lowbrow (art movement)]] | ||
| + | * [[Raggare]] | ||
| + | * [[Psychobilly]] | ||
| + | * [[Rockabilly]] | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Revision as of 18:30, 16 May 2018
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Kustom Kulture is an American neologism used to describe the artworks, vehicles, hairstyles, and fashions of those who drove and built custom cars and motorcycles in the United States of America from the 1950s through today.
See also
- Kenny Howard (Von Dutch)
- Ed Roth
- Robert Williams
- Custom car
- Hot rod
- Rat Fink
- Rat rod
- Biker cross
- Lowbrow (art movement)
- Raggare
- Psychobilly
- Rockabilly
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Kustom Kulture" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
