Automotive Fine Arts Society

I attended the Automotive Fine Arts Society (AFAS) reception this evening at The New Masters Gallery in Carmel-By-The-Sea. It was a great show of some fantastic art.

I always think that this group of artists shouldn't be known just as 'automotive' artists. Yes their art features automobiles and automotive subject but in some ways that is secondary. It is art. Gauguin was not a 'Polynesian' artist even though he painted Polynesian scenes and people. 

I am not art expert but some art moves me and some doesn't. When I see a piece of, regardless of the media, it it moves me, makes me think of something that makes me smile, I like it. I had that feeling the first time I saw some of the Old Masters up close at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. I get that feeling from much of the art I have seen at the AFAS.

It used to be that automotive art was what you hung in your den or garage. No more. Not that you can't hang it wherever you want but it should not be hidden away. 

For more information on the AFAS please go to https://www.autoartgallery.com/

And now a word on the venue for this year's reception. There was nothing wrong with The New Masters Gallery except that it was way too small compared to past years. The AFAS used to be held on the lawn in front of the Lodge at Pebble Beach. It used to be sponsored by Lincoln. 

I understand business and the need to make a profit; I really do. But there are times when profit overcomes all else and it shouldn't. Think of all the great artists who depended on patrons to keep producing their art. The world would have been a much poorer place if the patrons had said, "I like your art but you know I can get a better return on my buck elsewhere." 

So shame on Pebble Beach and the Lincoln Motor Company for pulling the plug on a very worthwhile event. The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is, just as the name says, about elegance, about automotive art on tires. Lincoln is about building elegant automobiles. In my mind, and I'm sure others feel the same, automotive art - the AFAS - belongs with Lincoln at Pebble.

Regardless of this situation if you get a chance to see any of these great artists work, even if you can't afford it, let them know how much you appreciate it.