Rethinking Lowrider Artistic Representations: An Aesthetic Response to Social Exclusion

Abstract

This article examines the narrative and visual construct of the lowrider vehicle as part of the barrio aesthetic. The central argument is that the display of lowrider art can be better understood as an artistic community mechanism of resistance used to contest cultural exclusion from white art spaces. The principles of Gloria Anzaldúa’s borderlands theory provide exceptional insights into the analyses of aesthetic lowrider displays from the margins. We use this approach to theoretically frame lowriders’ artistic representations as a Chicana/o identity effort to build contemporary cultural spaces for themselves. This study employs a qualitative triangulation method that includes participant observations, photo documentation, and six semi-structured interviews. Between December 2006 and September 2007, data were collected from the cities of Lansing and South Haven as well as from two lowrider car shows in the state of Michigan. This study found that lowrider art works as a source of stability and structure for Chicana/o young adults who live on the margins of society. For young adults isolated from mainstream cultural spaces by the essentialist interpretations of art, the lowrider aesthetic represents an identity–resiliency component introduced through family and friends—consciously or unconsciously—to resist cultural oppression.