Philo Northrup

Philo Northrup and The Truck in Flux

Philo Northrup has been making ArtCars for 23 years. He is currently building his sixth, entitled "Daisy Singer." Two other Philo ArtCars still drive, the Truck in Flux and the Buick of Unconditional Love. The other three, alas, have gone to that garage in the sky, which underscores one of the reasons why the ArtCar medium is so powerful: it's ephemeral.

He has been collaborating with ArtCar filmmaker Harrod Blank for the past ten years. Before that Philo organized the 1996 and 1997 West Coast ArtCar caravans to Houston, Texas and to Denver, Colorado, and arranges for the ArtCars to visit many childrens' hospitals and schools.

His non-ArtCar artwork has been exhibited at the USC Museum of Art, Triton Museum of Art, the California Museum of Art, the Museum of New Mexico, the Venice ArtWalk, the Musee de la Revolution Francais, and the LACE Annual.

In the late 1980s he produced the annual ArtGolf exhibitions in Los Angeles for which he was profiled in the Wall St. Journal (7/21/89) and on National Public Radio (7/14/89). From 1983-1989 he ran his own post card company, Work Ethic Productions, which distributed postcards of his own design nationwide.

For Philo, ArtCars and ArtCar Fest are part of a broader goal to expose contemporary art by self taught artists - folk art to the folk. Leading ArtCars through America's heartland inspired him greatly:

"The response to the ArtCars is incredible. Cowboys, home boys, teenagers, grandparents and all kids respond with almost reckless enthusiasm, waving like crazy, leaning halfway out of their cars, crying, laughing . . . We exhibit our art without pretense - usually without warning - therefore folks don't feel self conscious. Pure communication happens between our raw creativity and their unprepared psyche. The result? Joy. Road epiphanies. We hit a nerve and it's a good thing."