Marconi Auto Museum | Event 1

The Marconi Auto Museum was founded in 1994 by Dick Marconi and is home to a wide assortment of automobiles, from classic Ferraris and European roadsters, to old racecars and American muscle cars. The museum, which often doubles as an event venue, was created to act as an ongoing funding source for Marconi's Foundation for Kids.

When I first saw that the Marconi Museum was an event option, I was very excited!! Growing up, I was always fascinated by cars.  Ask me to identify any car on the street and I can most likely tell you its make, model, year, engine inside, price, and performance capabilities.  Looking back to that fascination in the context of this course, I think that I was so obsessive over cars because they so beautifully incorporate the latest technology in their engines, computers, and transmissions, while also conveying emotion, passion, and speed in their sheet metal and framework.  

Cars are like pieces of artwork, and collections of cars really tell the story of cultures and industries developing through time. The picture above shows a line of Ferraris throughout the year.  As you walk down the line, these cars tell the story of technical advancement; while 0-60mph in 6 seconds used to be revolutionary, nowadays your average sports sedans can hit 60mph even faster.  Ferraris today can blast to 60mph in under 3 seconds, a testament to the advancements in science and machinery. 

At the same time though, each car is not just a machine, it is a work of art that encompasses beauty, evolution, passion, and history.  Especially with each of these notable cars, there is so much tradition that goes into the sculpting of the sheet metal,  The paint colors, hard lines, contours, and headlights all combine to create a persona for the car that often conveys its performance and mechanical "personality", from an angrily-fast road-hugging supercar to an approachable, accommodating minivan.

It is the combination of mechanics and art, along with the diverse gamut of cars out there that each incite unique and differing emotions, that is exciting about cars.  In a sense, automobiles are a beautiful representation of the third culture, where art and science can collaborate and harmoniously coexist.

One thing that is interesting in considering the diversity of car types out in the market today is the variable balance between art and science.  Some car companies focus on art in favorable of more sensible mechanics, with designers adding in low crouching frames and swooping cabin frames that shout "sporty" or "sexy", but may not be the most practical when it comes to bumpy roads or very tall passengers looking for lots of leg room.  On the other end, some cars ooze a sense of luxury, with hefty lines and complex bodywork indicative of a smooth, polished machine meant to transport in comfort and style.  With another perspective, yet other cars are high off the ground, with chunky architecture and blunt features, indicative of strength, brute force, and off-roading capability.  Often, consumers must make the choice between high art or high science.  In mass markets, it is often the cars that have the perfect balance of artistic beauty and mechanical reliability that are most successful sales-wise.

Such combination of art and science is evidenced in "Formula One Race Cars: Blurring the Lines between Art & Science". Stratis so accurately describes this fascinating combination with the following: "From the expensive sports cars on the streets to the futuristic machines in the movies, fast cars enliven the imagination. Earnest fans around the world watch the Grand Prix religiously, even if the difference in time zones requires live viewing at 2am. While many follow the races and relish the excitement it engenders, far fewer understand the engineering behind these mammoth works of art. They are some of only a few machines weighing as much as 600kg while able to reach velocities of more than 200 miles per hour. The production of a Formula One racing car is a fine example of the subtle combination of art and engineering."

Another concept that I thought of were cars as canvases for consumers to use as their work of art.  Inside the museum, there was a custom Ferrari with a special royal blue paint job for the Sultan of Brunei.  On the hood of an old muscle car, there was a fanciful painting of Oscar de la Hoya in boxing position.  On another, an old firetruck, there was an emblem of the fire truck.  While cars may be produced in mass and exemplify mass-market replicability and Ford's assembly line theories in action, at the same time they are canvases for each individual to customize.  As such, the relationship each person has with their car is extremely unique, which is why I think so many people find peace and joy in taking scenic drives alone in their cars as an escape.

Overall, I loved touring the Marconi and left with a greater appreciation for all of the mechanical and artistic components that come together to create automobiles.  I am at once amazed by the technical capabilities of modern cars (automated parallel parking, safety features galore, 250mph top limits, oh my!) while also so appreciative of the stories and reasonings behind each car's story.  The Marconi visit made me all the more appreciative of cars after I left the museum, so it was ironic that I got in a car crash on the drive back home from the museum!!

RIP Phillip the 2009 Honda Fit -- 7/08/2014

Sources:

"Automotive History: How The 1960 Corvair Started A Global Design Revolution." Curbside Classic. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-how-the-1960-corvair-started-a-global-design-revolution/>.

"Dream Cars: Innovative Design, Visionary Ideas." . HIGH Museum of Art, Atlanta, n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://www.high.org/Art/Exhibitions/Dream-Cars-Innovative-Design-Visionary-Ideas.aspx>.

"Our Story - Marconi Automotive Museum." Marconi Automotive Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 July 2014. <http://www.marconimuseum.org/our-story/our-story/>.

"The Sultan's Secret 1995 Ferrari FX." Autoblog. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/10/the-sultans-secret-1995-ferrari-fx/>.

Stratis, George. "Formula One Race Cars: Blurring the Lines between Art and Science." . N.p., n.d. Web. 19 July 2014. <http://illumin.usc.edu/printer/55/formula-one-race-cars-blurring-the-lines-between-art-and-science/>.