BENGSTON, Billy Al

Description

Alamo
1969
Print, laquer and polyester resin on aluminum
36 x 34 in.
An avid motorcycle rider, Billy Al Bengston adapted the spray-gun technique used in customizing cycles to his own art work in the 1960s. Working on the unyielding surfaces of Masonite or metal, Bengston employed spray guns and airbrushes to achieve a sleek surface which he then marked with a recognizable yet out-of-context symbols, such as a cross, heart, iris, or, as in this work, sergeant stripes. While familiar, these centrally placed emblems resist a narrative interpretation and instead heighten awareness of the painted surface. Similarly, the dented metal both disrupts the composition and becomes art of it.

Date

1969

Creator

Bengston, Billy Al
American
, b. 1934

Source

Museum purchase, Art Affiliates

Identifier

1976.40

Citation

Bengston, Billy AlAmerican, b. 1934, “BENGSTON, Billy Al,” UCSB ADA Museum Omeka, accessed March 19, 2024, http://art-collections.museum.ucsb.edu/items/show/7610.