When you think of vehicles such as an ice cream truck, what images flood in? For me, two instances of ice cream trucks stand out from all other memories from my childhood. Firstly there is the massively obese version of Homer Simpson, speeding past his children’s school bus en route to a nuclear emergency as he consumes everything inside a stolen ice cream truck. Secondly there is the scene from Friday, where drug dealer Big Worm pulls up in his ice cream truck, and takes money from little kids for products he does not have in stock. Neither are probably as funny today, but both are everlasting.
Now that I’ve set that up, enter Kevin Cyr, a painter based in Brooklyn, New York. Many of Cyr’s paintings are executed on plywood, reflecting the artist’s subject. As he explains, “in a culture in which people are easily lured by the appeal of status-enhancing symbols, I find beauty in derelict cars, unkempt landscapes and lackluster canvasses.” The cars and other vehicles he paints have character not seen in flashy car ads but the marking’s of a storied past. Cyr removes these vehicles from their original context, giving them a portrait like importance and allows the viewer to re-examine the sights they may take for granted.
