Diagnostics

"Diagnostics" is a collaborative art project between Oakland resident artists and car mechanics at "Enthusiast Automotive." The auto shop is independently-owned by Keith “Speed” Pinckney, and it specializes in the maintenance of classic cars. This presentation reflects on the results of our two-year artistic and ethnographic engagement with the social and material environment around the restoration of cars. The images draw on the art exhibit installed and displayed inside the auto shop on July 23, 2011. The installation consisted of photographs, drawings, sculptures, paintings, video and music. 

Diagnostics Field Notes: The blog on the everyday life of the project

Type: 
Image
Image: 

Photo by Diana Sanchez

Type: 
Text
 "Diagnostics" is a collaborative art project between Oakland resident artists and car mechanics at Enthusiast Automotive. The auto shop is independently-owned by Keith “Speed” Pinckney, and it specializes in the maintenance of classic cars. This presentation reflects on the results of our two-year artistic and ethnographic engagement with the social and material environment around the restoration of cars. The images draw on the art exhibit installed and displayed inside the auto shop on July 23, 2011. The installation consisted of photographs, drawings, sculptures, paintings, video and music.
Type: 
Image
Image: 

Installation of video by Davon Ramos within the garage setting

Type: 
Audio or Video
Embed Code: 
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/26888568?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/26888568">Diagnostics</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1433996">daniel gallegos</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Video by Davon Ramos

Type: 
Image
Image: 

Heart sculpture made of tires and car parts by James Crosby

Type: 
Image
Image: 

A photo installation by Diana Sanchez

Type: 
Image
Image: 

Drawings and a painting in the office that was converted into a gallery

Type: 
Image
Image: 

To bring our installation to life we invited Frank Sosa to play music that the mechanics like. We took a list down of the songs they would listen to in their cars and played them at the opening. 

Type: 
Image
Image: 

Visitors having a drink

Type: 
Image
Image: 

People hanging out at the shop during the exhibit

Type: 
Image
Image: 

Visitors hanging out in the yard

Type: 
Image
Image: 
Type: 
Image
Image: 

Food and drinks were served at the exhibit

Type: 
Image
Image: 

Many people asked questions about the project

Type: 
Image
Image: 

We discovered speed had an archive of photos of his bodywork over the years. We displayed some of them. 

Type: 
Text

The idea of the project emerged in response to the current economic downturn. We have all witnessed the malfunctioning of the American culture of consumerism supported by the economy of credit since 2008. With many new suburban developments in crisis and car sales significantly decreasing, the momentum of our disillusionment has led to reconsideration of our previous spending habits. At a time of massive layoffs and rising unemployment, we have all looked for alternatives. One of them was to downsize and survive with recycling and reusing old things. We felt compelled to reflect on this shift, and our collaborator, Monica Linzner, recommended her local neighborhood mechanic, Enthusiast Automotive.

Type: 
Image
Image: 

Raulus extracting parts for another truck. "Cannibalizing" parts from other cars is a common practice among mechanics to maintain and keep cars on the road at a minimal cost. 

Type: 
Text
 Speed and his collaborators, Raulus, John, Rigo, and Jorge, excel at renovating and maintaining old cars. Upon visiting and hanging out at the auto shop, we have learned about life histories of Speed and his collaborators, their lifelong fascination with the cars made prior to mid-1970s, their place in the neighborhood, their way of running a sustainable and affordable business, and the pressures of being Black and Latino men in the contemporary US. 
Type: 
Image
Image: 

Daniel hanging out with Speed and Raulus

Type: 
Image
Image: 

Rigo went to trade school to specialize on car bodywork. 

Type: 
Text
By identifying and distinguishing among different generations of cars in the US, Enthusiast Automotive mechanics actively preserve the history of American industrialism. As they cultivate a culture of repairing and reusing old cars and car parts, they are teaching us to value the legacy that we already have, as a counterpoint to the constant pursuit of innovation.
Type: 
Image
Image: 
Type: 
Image
Image: 
Type: 
Text
Despite the current push for gentrification that has displaced many businesses in this increasingly residential area, Speed’s auto shop persists. The auto shop mechanics’ insights on the current struggling consumer society help us understand and navigate an American city in the times of economic downturn.
Type: 
Image
Image: 
An early 20th century apartment on Genoa Street.
Type: 
Text

Collaborators: Diana Sanchez, Zhanara Nauruzbayeva, Davon Ramos, James Crosby, Monica Linzner, Daniel Gallegos, Frank Sosa, Raulus Rogers, Speed Pinckney, Rodrigo Vargas, Jorge Ramirez, and John Terry.

 Thank you Matthew Gilliland and Devin Curry for helping with the exhibit installation. We would like to thank Cynthia Salaysay for taking photographs of the exhibit.

Type: 
Text