Edward Kienholz. Back Seat Dodge ‘38. 1964

Kienholz’s decision to preserve the grimy, used quality of this truncated 1938 Dodge is typical of his assemblages, which are made of found materials and often explore sensitive social topics. The artist chose to incorporate this particular model of car into the work because he recalled a similar teenage experience in the back of his father’s ’38 Dodge. When this work was shown in an exhibition here at LACMA in 1966, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors demanded that the sculpture be removed from view because it was “pornographic.” Though the sculpture ultimately remained in the show, the controversy surrounding its exhibition echoed public obscenity cases heard in the Supreme Court throughout the 1960s.

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