Molly Sullivan

Neither a visit from President Bush on the next block over nor a man running down the street carrying a sign reading "Iraq didn't do 9-11" can detract from the party just getting started at 600 South Wabash.

Low-rider culture takes center stage at the Columbia College photo exhibit by Meridel Rubenstein and the low-rider car/bike display by Amistad Car Club, Distinctive Lifestyles, Pisados Chicago and Young Riders. Inside the gallery a mariachi band plays to a dancing crowd of young car enthusiasts and art seekers alike, a pairing that's completely natural tonight.

"I wanna ride it," a young boy pleads, reaching toward the sparkling silver low-rider bike with a luxurious crimson velvet seat. The creators of the low riders, who look like they should be bouncing you out of a club, kindly ask the children not to touch these spectacular works of art because fingerprints aren't exactly the kind of detailing they spend years perfecting.

As the band quiets, the dancers make their way outside in anticipation of "pancaking" and "bunny-hopping." Pulling out a remote so big it's comical, the men of Amistad get the show going as the classic car bounces up and down with all the low-rider creators cheering them on, obviously enjoying the work Amistad has done.

But it's not all about rolling down the street with your bass pounding. "We're artists... taking years to put all this together," Pedro Cisneros III of Amistad says. And artists they are--most low-rider cars on display don't have the stereotypical flames and skulls, instead they elevate the ordinary into the extraordinary like Warhol's ubiquitous Campbell's soup can. "We keep it simple with the classic cars and just take it up a notch."

Rubenstein appreciates the artistry of the cars and the respect they are gaining. Her photos display both simple-looking low riders and some of the more impressive bouncing low riders. While all the cars are something to behold, "the ones with hydraulics are the thoroughbreds of the low riders," Rubenstein writes in her artist's statement.

And the respect for the work is apparent among the artists. "Shit, did you see that Lakers one?" fellow car club men whisper about Pisados Chicago's gold-rimmed and purple-seated low-rider bike like it's fit for a low-rider king.

But is it the extravagance and beauty that attracts such a wide-ranging audience? "Straight up, they're hot... And the work we put into them makes them even sexier," most of the low-riding men laugh in agreement.

(2006-10-17)

Also by Molly Sullivan

Only Connect
It's not everyday at a bar that you find people ranging from age 5 to 65, but, at Beat Kitchen, all ages enjoy a Connect Four tournament in celebration of RWIM's (Run With It Management) four years of promoting local musicians
(2006-09-19)

Macy Day
An underwhelming applause makes its way halfway down the street as the doors to the controversially renamed Macy's on State Street open to a crowd that stretches around the block
(2006-09-12)

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