> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Andre Mayis Art cars are moveable feats - URL: https://www.smdp.com/andre-mayis-news-smdp-com-art-cars-are-moveable-feats/ - Published: 2007-01-10T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T22:58:39.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Business, Santa Monica, #archive-import *‘Junk’ to treasured* CITYWIDE — Tommy Kendall was walking along the street when he spotted the car of his dreams. There it stood in the middle of the road — a yellow 1974 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight with a gigantic rooster head attached to its roof and a yellow feathery tail sticking out of its rump. Kendall flagged down the ultimate chick magnet, telling the driver he wanted to buy the car. The driver said she would pass along his information to the owner — a radio station in Ohio that used the car for promotional purposes. The car was only in California for a movie shoot. The owner never called Kendall, but soon after, he received word from an auto magazine that the car was impounded in a lot in Santa Monica because its registration had expired. A week later, he drove to the impound lot where the car was being auctioned off and as the only bidder, he became the proud owner of the rooster mobile. “It makes me smile,” Kendall said on Tuesday of the car he has owned for a decade. “If you’re ever taking yourself too seriously, it has a way of resetting your perspective.” The 40-year-old Kendall, a professional race car driver and race car commentator has driven the rooster car several times to his work at the Long Beach Grand Prix and the California Speedway. “I’m known for being a bit off, so I think people were somewhat taken aback, but not totally surprised either,” he said. The rooster car is one of several mobile artistic statements taking to the streets of Santa Monica. The sub category of art, known as “art cars,” are less common in counties like Los Angeles, where image means everything, than they are in other parts of the United States like Berkeley, Houston, Minneapolis, Seattle and Baltimore, according to Harrod Blank, the owner of the Art Car Agency in Berkeley. Blank is a master of art cars, having created his first work in 1981 when he converted his 1965 Volkswagen Bug. With a rooster painted on the door, a Bob Marley replica sitting in the passenger seat, and a chalk-board on the back, Blank named his vehicle the “oh my god” car because that is how strangers reacted when they first saw the, um, masterpiece. “Newer cars are great because they’re mechanically better,” Blank said on Tuesday. “But the aesthetics is something that I question. “Why do they all have to look the same?” Since his first creation,Blank has converted three of his own cars and has also worked on seven others for art projects. He is currently trying to open an art car museum in Arizona and is producing a film about the topic. “A person’s creativity and ingenuity are more valuable than their monetary value or representation their car has,” said Blank. The art car can serve many different purposes, from therapy for the artist who created it to the sheer entertainment for those who see it. In some instances, it can also serve as a source for aggravation. Kendall lives near the Montana neighborhood on Lincoln Boulevard, where his car stands out in contrast to the flashy German imports parked along the block. “If I park it anywhere other than right in front of my place, there are definitely some people who don’t like it,” Kendall said. Tow trucks have been sent in the past to impound his car. But 90 percent of people love the chicken car, insists Kendall. One day about six months ago, a woman called out to Kendall’s window on the second floor of his apartment complex overlooking the car. He looked out and saw actress Helen Hunt standing next to the car with her daughter. Kendall claims the Academy Award-winning actress told him that her daughter insists on seeing the car every day. The car has also served as a lucky charm for the landlord who owns Kendall’s apartment complex. Several residents have moved into the building solely because of the car, prompting the landlord to rename the building “El Gallo Cubano,” which means “The Cuban Chicken.” Kendall has been approached several times about appearing on MTV’s “Pimp My Ride,” as well as other makeover television shows. Last summer, Alison Hennessey and her husband Bob found his beloved 1965 Buick Station Wagon vandalized. Someone, clearly unhappy that the old wagon was sitting in their Ocean Park neighborhood, spray-painted the word “junk” on three sides of the car. “It felt like a violation,” Alison Hennessey said on Tuesday. “On the other hand, the car was a bit rusty, so they had a point.” Rather than replace the car, the Hennesseys and 16 friends held a barbecue and car-painting party. The result was a 1965 Buick Station Wagon covered in comic book images — appropriate for Bob Hennessey, the owner of Hi De Ho Comics on Santa Monica Boulevard. “Every \[artistic\] skill level was on there,” said Alison Hennessey. The hood was painted by a Venice-based artist named Chris Hero. The Spider-man on the front passenger side of the car was a creation by a partially paralyzed man who spent hours perfecting his painting. A few weeks after Bob Hennessey’s car was transformed, his wife decided she wanted to drive art of her own. She purchased buckets of red paint and covered her 1984 Honda Civic in her own right hand print. “The hand prints are the first expression of art by a human being,” she said. “I always thought it was a powerful image.” Though the art cars are beloved for the most part, the city’s parking enforcement officers have been called to the Hennessey’s cars on more than one occasion on an anonymous report that they have been abandoned. The Hennesseys believe it might be the same person who originally vandalized the wagon. Bob Hennessey isn’t sure why their cars are targeted by this specific person, but has a feeling that the reporting party is upset that the old car would have a presence on their up-and-coming block. To the Hennesseys, the two art cars are the antithesis of the Mercedes and other high-end vehicles that disguise its occupants with tinted glass windows. “Alison is a very social creature and the car is an outreach, an invitation, saying it’s OK to smile and say ‘Hi’ to your neighbors,” said Bob Hennessey. Alison Hennessey is a well-known figure in her neighborhood. During cold weather days, she sits on the corner of Hill and Fourth streets, selling her special crocheted hats and chatting with passersby. Though she seldom rides the Big Blue Bus,it seems as though every driver on the line that stops across from the crochet hat stand knows her. Many will wave hello. The Hennesseys don’t plan on replacing their cars in the foreseeable future. “I will drive it until she dies,” Alison Hennessey said of her car. “Then, I will look for my next canvas.” GETTING THE BOOT Art Car Agency appraises cars for artists who want to know the value of their creation in terms of advertising and licensing. Many art cars are, in fact, used for advertising and promotion. Quality Shoe Repair in West Los Angeles, a shoe store and repair shop near the Santa Monica border, are the proud owners of two vehicles shaped like a red boot and black boot, respectively. The owners drive the black boot to work every day on the 405 Freeway from the San Fernando Valley, while the red boot car is reserved for trips around the city. The previous owner sold the red car along with the business to Tony Rouben and his family 28 years ago. The family added the black boot about six years ago. The boot is a cultural icon in Los Angeles, having appeared in several feature length films. The red boot car, sitting outside the store on Santa Monica Boulevard, in particular, is a popular tourist attraction. Rouben said he often sees people standing outside taking photos of the car. “We drive it for fun,” Rouben said on Tuesday. “Forget the car, the store is what’s well known.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 10, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/011007.pdf?ref=smdp.com)