BENGSTON, Billy Al

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.

1969

Bengston, Billy Al
American, b. 1934

Museum purchase, Art Affiliates

1976.40