Alexandria Clifton

The most interesting part of this reading to me is the loose connection between such diverse subjects that Hickey seems to draw as easily as he does. His discussion of the car as an art form makes sense to me in the way that he mentions the various skill sets and sub genres of knowledge that comes with being a member of car culture which is comparable to various aspects of art appreciation. Some of the specific aspects he mentions are the rhetoric of image and icon that are apparent in car culture. I understand, on a separate degree, his first encounter with the idea of higher conceptual theories stemming from something as commercial as the car because it seems apparent in other commercial objects. Many things are projected toward the individual in such a way to manipulate them into achieving a certain goal or mindset that at the same time makes the buyer seem validated while the 'market' actually reaps the benefits.

The 'rhetoric of image and icon' are apparent in essentially everything humanity is involved in as of late. Hickey mentions the concept of 'embodied desire' which is an idea imposed upon us by the market, or trend setters of the generation who calculate and manipulate style climate. He again compares this concept to the idea of the car as an art object which is ideally a 'fresh idea of democracy' or 'new canon of beauty' that has been established; yet tainted by amateurs or posers.

He gets really intense sometimes as he is discussing his love for the hardworking struggling artist or car lover as morally above the bourgeois because he suggests the latter are merely making matters undesirable by commodifying, pricing and 'choosing' what is art; in order to materialize or commercialize the idea of desire in order to establish an unnecessary standard of  status. However, I was confused at his switch between intensity and then almost defensive attitude that commodification is a strategic response to the changing times.

Although he truly does seem like an wacky old grump reminscing of the sixties, I truly enjoyed Hickey's written rebellion to commodity and the scary lack of individualism that is all too common in many aspects of life. He seems furious and the opposite of level headed as he progresses through the concepts like he is thinking out loud. However, he seems to show a sense of clarity in many disciplines.