Harrod Blank

Harrod Blank in Mexico
Photo by Harrod Blank

When Harrod Blank first realized that his '65 VW Beetle could be treated as a canvas, the result was "Oh My God!." Painted like a beach ball with a bumper of plastic fruit, a chalkboard on back and a TV on the roof, the car was the catalyst for his remarkable career.

Initially, Blank thought he was the only one in the world with an art car, and at times felt quite alienated. This would change, as gradually he learned from supporters that there were other such cars, spread out across the country. Drawing from what he had learned from his father, famous filmmaker Les Blank, and the BA in Theater Arts/Film he earned at UC Santa Cruz in 1986, Blank began photographing other art cars. Subsequently, he raised money through private investors and took out loans as needed to finance the documentary film he dreamed of making: "Wild Wheels".

To his credit, over 40 million people have now seen the film worldwide. As a start, Blank distributed "Wild Wheels", featuring 46 art cars and their respective artists by driving "Oh My God!" with the film to 50 different cities across the country. Publicity from the tour gained the interest of PBS, which broadcast the film as a National Special in March 1993. The same year, Blank's photography was featured in a companion book, "Wild Wheels" (Pomegranate Artbooks) which was named "Best Book For Young Adults" by the American Library Association.

Combining his passion for car art and his love for photography, Blank attached 1,705 cameras to a 1972 Dodge van. With ten working cameras included in this rolling spectacle, his second art car, the "Camera Van" has given Blank the ability to photograph the public's candid reactions to car art. In 1995 Blank drove the van to New York City for its official "debut" and took over 5,000 pictures along the way. He is now working on a book of these reaction shots, to be entitled I've Got A Vision.

Blank, convinced as ever of the beauty and power of car art, created "Driving The Dream", a 30 minute documentary which premiered on TBS's National Geographic Explorer, October, 1997. In response to the seemingly infinite number of astounding art cars yet to be unveiled, Blank plans to expand "Driving The Dream" into the feature length sequel of "Wild Wheels." Art car fans should be on the lookout for "Wild Wheels II" in the fall of 1999.

Please check out Harrod's web sites: www.harrodblank.com or www.cameravan.com

Also look for Harrod and the Camera Van currently featured at