Lowrider Culture Exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum
The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles is recognized internationally for its innovative design and is dedicated to the interpretive study of the automobile and its influence on our culture and lives.
Encompassing more than 300,000 square feet, its exhibits and lifelike dioramas feature more than 150 rare and classic cars, trucks and motorcycles. The newest exhibit is “LA VIDA LOWRIDER: CRUISING THE CITY OF ANGELS,” a wide-ranging examination of the lowrider lifestyle that was born and still flourishes in Los Angeles. The exhibit runs through June 8, 2008 in the Grand Salon.
Admission for adults is $10. Seniors (62 and over), students and active military with I.D. and children (5 - 12 years) are all $5. For further information, visit www.petersen.org.
LA VIDA: THE LIFE
Lowriding is about passion, corazón (heart), and respect. Los Angeles is its inspiration. In the history of this fascinating and complex city are the roots of this cultural tradition. Lowriders in Los Angeles reveal not only their passion for classic cars, but they also speak to the importance of visualizing and communicating cultural identity and community. Using their vehicles as canvases for creative expression within the urban landscape, lowrider owners document the rich and vibrant social and cultural history of nuestra ciudad (our city). In presenting LA VIDA LOWRIDER: CRUISING THE CITY OF ANGELS, the Petersen Automotive Museum celebrates lowrider cars, people, and culture, and the city that inspires so many, both nationally and internationally.
What is a lowrider? The word is used to describe a car that is customized primarily to be low to the ground, usually containing a hydraulic setup for adjusting ride height, with a fantastic candy paint job, chrome features, and customized upholstery. Included among the categories of lowrider cars are “bombs” (American-made cars from the late 1930s to the early 1950s) and “Euros” (import cars such as Honda and Acura) among others. Many lowriding purists believe that classic Chevrolets are the only cars that, once properly customized, can carry the lowrider label, yet today virtually any kind of vehicle can be transformed into a lowrider. There are now lowrider mini-trucks, SUVs (sport utility vehicles), motorcycles, bicycles, and even scale models. Most importantly, the lowrider label is also used to describe people who participate in this car culture phenomenon. Lowriding is a way of life for many of its participants, and its practice varies across the United States and abroad.
When did lowriding begin? Almost everyone has a different story to tell and all of them add to the vitality of lowriding as a cultural experience. For example, in Espanola, New Mexico, the lowriders claim it began there and the town has proclaimed itself Lowrider Capital of the World. On the other hand, Chicano lowriders in Los Angeles claim it started here with the pachuco/zoot suit culture of the 1940s
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