The Best Or Nothing: Did MBUSA Censor An Art Show?

This to me is a classic case of the corporate world trying to flex its muscle on the “nobodies”. Is the MOCA the appropriate place for this kind of flexing? Of course not …or is it? Giving the power of curation and enforcement of corporate policies on an exhibition and venue like this is not the way it is supposed to go down. Is MOCA a car lot? Is MOCA a venue for advertisements where the interests of the brand comes before the art? Who empowered them to simply go around and pluck whatever art out of the show to throw in the trash? I made this art on my own dime, traveled down there on my own dime, displayed it on my own time.

According to the HuffPo, media artist Chris Silva had his exhibit at Mike D’s MOCA Los Angeles show, “Bring Your Own Beamer (Projector)” turned off by event staff before the show could even begin. Why? Silva’s “art” was a projected picture of the Peugeot 908 HDI LeMans racer. Quoth Silva,

I was then told that I had to take down what I was showing and that I could show something else if I had it. I was also told that the reason I couldn’t show it is because someone from Mercedes corporate was “pissed” about it and basically took it as a “fuck you” to Mercedes. I asked to talk to the person who made this decision, and was denied, literally told “you don’t want to talk to them, they are pissed”.

While your humble author’s involvement with the “art world” is limited to the occasional Chihuly purchase and the strategic positioning of H.R. Giger prints in his senior-year dorm room to further aggravate a roommate who was already a known suicide risk and prone to terrifying, grotesque nightmares, this whole thing seems a little bit difficult for us to believe. Peugeot and Mercedes-Benz no longer compete in North America, either for sales or for motorsports dominance. Indeed, unless one is simply an ironclad fan of the dearly departed 505 Turbo, it can be easily argued that the two firms have never competed here. Most art-show goers, upon being confronted with a large picture of a Peugeot race car, would probably just think “generic racing vehicle,” not “OMFG I AM GOING TO SELL MY C300 AND FLY TO PARIS TOMORROW TO IMPORT A PUG JUST LIKE CAPTAIN MIKE SOLOWIOW!”

While this incident hasn’t done anything to increase the number of Peugeots brought into the country, it has raised the profile of Mr. Silva, who has been able to firmly position himself as an “artist” who uses a projector to put pre-existing pictures on a wall. Perhaps this is less about intra-European rivalries and more about Mr. Brainwash…

Thanks to Ronnie Schreiber of Cars In Depth for the tip!