Latinx Lowrider car culture photographed in Kristin Bedford's 'Cruise Night'

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, March 29, 2024


Latinx Lowrider car culture photographed in Kristin Bedford's 'Cruise Night'
Kristin Bedford’s Cruise Night (published by Damiani), takes us behind the curtain of this misunderstood subculture.



LOS ANGELES, CA.- Kristin Bedford’s new photo book Cruise Night pulls back the curtain on LA’s Mexican American* lowrider car culture, aiming to tackle the misconceptions and celebrate the uniqueness of this marginalized community. Bedford is the first woman to create an original large-scale body of work about this American movement. Cruise Night is available to purchase from Tuesday May 4, 2021.

Since its beginnings in the 1940s, the prolific lowrider tradition has provided a platform for Mexican Americans to have a voice and be seen. Today there are tens of thousands of lowriders in Los Angeles, still, lowriding is often pigeonholed as craft or folk art and stereotyped as crude and dangerous. Through intimate and unstaged photography, Bedford reveals a different reality – a tradition of self-expression that is passed down between generations.

Bedford’s fascination with lowriding began when learning of the complex and sophisticated nuanced symbolism behind car customization. Cars became mobile canvases reflecting decades of identity politics and culture, allowing a platform for creativity. The legendary community embraced and welcomed Bedford over her five years of integrating and documenting their lifestyle, sharing traditions, attending hundreds of lowrider cruise nights, car shows, quinceañeras, weddings and funerals. Bedford’s photographs of women lowriders display them in their element without being positioned as accessories.

Cruise Night (Damiani) is a visual tribute to a prolific American cultural movement set against the Los Angeles cityscape. Seen through a rare and uniquely female vantage point, Bedford aims to overturn this cultural space traditionally defined by men. Cruise Night includes snippets of oral histories by members of the various clubs speaking about the culture and its impact on their lives. The reflective text on the book’s cover reflects the metallic sheen of the lowrider exterior detailing.

“Kristin Bedford appreciates the sensitivity of our culture and Cruise Night is an amazing representation of lowriding. We are always being stereotyped but by riding with us she understands what we are really about and what we do. She has earned the respect of the lowrider community by not just making a book but by living the life with us. We will always be thankful that she’s one of the very few that got it right. Like the saying goes, “one rides, we all ride” and she’s riding along with us.” –Juan Ramirez, Co-founder Los Angeles Lowrider Community and President of Just Memories Car Club Los Angeles, CA.

Kristin Bedford is an LA-based photographer creating work centered around the intersection of aesthetics and social realism. Her photography explores race, visual stereotypes and communal self-expression. Through long-term engagement with communities, Bedford invites us to reconsider prevalent visual narratives around cultural and spiritual movements. Her work has been featured in such publications as The New York Times, The Guardian, Royal Photographic Society, Esquire, The Huffington Post, among others. Bedford’s photographs are held in numerous private and public collections worldwide, including the Library of Congress.










Today's News

May 5, 2021

Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art announces donation of artworks by Gordon W. Bailey

MSU Broad Art Museum prioritizes inclusion and equity in 2021 acquisitions

Christie's Classic Week Old Masters Evening Sale includes masterpiece from Belloto's early career

Hindman to present important jewelry and timepieces auctions this month

Sotheby's collaborates with Coinbase to accept cryptocurrency for Banksy painting in contemporary art auction

Vaccination can be relaxing. Just ask these museum visitors.

Billie Eilish and Timothee Chalamet among young Met Gala co-chairs

Latinx Lowrider car culture photographed in Kristin Bedford's 'Cruise Night'

Edward Tyler Nahem relocates to 980 Madison opening May 8 with group show

What doomed a sprawling city near St. Louis 1,000 years ago?

$100K Vargas pinup art leads $2.3 million Heritage illustration auction

A panorama of design

H&H Classics announces partnership with fast growing Youtube vlog 'Petrol Ped'

Exhibit on view at Missoula Art Museum showcases entirely new work by Aaniiih artist

Items hand-selected from estates across the South will come up for bid at Stevens Auction Company

'La Bamba' and the lives it changed

Metro Pictures opens "Louise Lawler: One Show on Top of the Other"

Spelman College Archives to house African Voices magazine

Springfield Art Museum announces appointment of Museum Affairs Officer for Development and Fundraising

Jacques d'Amboise, 86, dies; Early, charismatic star of City Ballet

Whyte's announces highlights included in its annual "Eclectic Collector" auction

Red Hot Chili Peppers sell song catalog for $140 mn: Billboard

'There is no end' for Afrobeat legend Tony Allen

Strawser Auction Group announces four-day antique auction

Importance of RDP and Forex VPS Managements

Best Quality Nursing Assignment Help in Australia at Assignment Help for You

4 Museums You Must Visit in Your Lifetime

5 Beneficial Bugs for Your Garden

Ways to Use an Old Car for Interior Design

How to get a bitcoin with no verification




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful