Smithsonian Voices Archives of American Art
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While on a airing one summer day in 1933, Myron Scott, the arch columnist for the Dayton Daily News, came aloft a accumulation of boys benumbed bottomward a abrupt acropolis in makeshift cars they had ancient out of old roller skate auto and crates that had captivated peaches or soap, or any added abstracts they could cobble together. Watching them barrage themselves bottomward the acropolis in their homemade, gravity-propelled vehicles, he anticipation up the abstraction of captivation a bona fide chase and he asked the boys to appear aback the afterward anniversary and bring friends. Nineteen boys angry up with their cars, and Scott took photographs and the abstraction of a sponsored chase aback to his editors. On August 19, 1933 the aboriginal soap box derby was captivated in Dayton, Ohio, with 362 drivers—including one girl, Alice Johnson, who came in additional and abashed the army aback she took off her helmet absolute her continued hair—and forty thousand admirers in the stands. By 1934 it was a civic contest, the All-American Soap Box Derby, with thirty-four newspapers and the Chevrolet Motor Company confined as sponsors. Over the abutting several decades, the Derby would become a civic attraction that, as biographer Melanie Payne notes, showed “the furnishings of the Depression, World War II, the babyish boom, the Civil Rights movement, and the acceleration of feminism.” But in 1975 and 1978, on brilliant May canicule in a San Francisco park, the racetrack belonged to artists.
Billed as the “most unique” accident anytime produced by the San Francisco Building of Art (SFMA), co-chairs Margy Boyd and Wally Goodman promised the Artists’ Soap Box Derby would be a chase “supercharged with wit, talent, magic, and the honest diaphoresis of about 100 Bay Area artists.” The abstraction for an artists’ derby was sparked by Ohio-born sculptor and painter Fletcher Benton as a fundraiser for the museum. Artists were recruited for the May 18, 1975 accident to actualize aboriginal works of art in the anatomy of cars or trophies—a few autonomous to do both—with an amount annual of $100 and $25 respectively. Seventy-nine artists congenital cars and thirty artists created award trophies in categories such as Best Amorphous, Fastest-Looking, Best Macabre, Best Literary, Best Pun, Best Bio-degradable, Funkiest, Best Joyful, Best Humane, Best Illusory, and The Booby Prize. Though the chase was a non-competitive event, there were additionally awards for the three fastest cars.
Artists who created cars accommodate Viola Frey, Clayton Bailey, and the counter-culture artisan aggregate Ant Farm. Jo Hanson, Robert Arneson, Leo Valledor, and Ruth Asawa alternate as bays artists. A abbreviate documentary about the Derby by filmmaker Amanda Pope, The Incredible San Francisco Artists’ Soap Box Derby, alike online in 2007. The blur opens with a attempt of Dana Draper’s cycloptic orb covered in bags of agleam chestnut pennies—aptly blue-blooded for the year 1975, Runaway Inflation—taking a decline ambit in McLaren Esplanade area the chase was held.
Also featured is Dorcas Moulton’s entry Moulton’s Edible Special—a replica of a classic English Morgan kitted out with afresh broiled bread, which was anon devoured by aggregation as anon it rolled beyond the accomplishment line. Added food-inspired cars took to the acropolis as well: a behemothic box of beastly crackers, a Volkswagen Beetle fabricated of chocolate, and a behemothic assistant on wheels.
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The day alike included a derby queen, artists’ archetypal Florence Allen. Having airish for such artists as Elmer Bischoff, Diego Rivera, Joan Brown, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and Mark Rothko, and generally declared as “San Francisco’s best acclaimed artists’ model,” she was the accustomed best to ample this role. Fiber artisan K. Lee Manuel advised her jewel-toned costume, which featured a cape covered in august wheels and a atramentous and white checky flag. Topped off with a kitschy, glitter-covered car, miniature access trees, and ablaze cars antagonism about the brim, Allen's crown, anchored beneath her button with a blush glassy bow, sparkled in the sunshine.
However, the car that affective my absorption was created by Eleanor Dickinson. She is apparent blaster abnormal into Pope’s blur actuality wheeled by her bedmate Wade to the starting band in her entry, a behemothic tongue. The Archives holds Dickinson’s papers, area I begin actual on the Derbies. In the book for the 1975 chase are accord and columnist releases from the museum, addendum and schematic assets of her car, and photographs documenting the architecture of the car from anatomy to finish. A list of abeyant titles for the car includes acclaimed phrases such as Slip of the tongue, On the tip of my tongue, and Bite your tongue. In an email to me, Dickinson’s babe Katy wrote that the car was ultimately called Tongue-tied and that her ancestor acceptable did the engineering design.
Dickinson was a adversary in the additional Derby captivated on May 21, 1978—also captivated in McLaren Esplanade but now beneath the advocacy of the re-named San Francisco Building of Modern Art (SFMOMA). This time in a accoutrement best declared by the artisan herself in a letter to accessible television base KQED, area she donated her car afterwards the chase for a fundraising auction:
The car is alleged “Model T”, is a adapted 1934 Ford anatomy with pipes etc. anchored to the top and corrective ablaze colors like a Rube Goldberg sculpture (Citroen advised the chassis). The donation does not accommodate the blimp skunk, the alive 8' python, or the bristles nude models on top (tho’ accessible publicity of the aforementioned may advice your auction!).
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It is not a abruptness that Dickinson created an access on the accountable of artists’ models; they were axial to her assignment as both an artisan and educator. On the accountable teaching amount drawing, she told me via email in 2013 that the “models consistently airish nude, which agitated some acceptance who had never apparent a actual aged being nude—or one actual fat or aching . . . but I anticipation it was a actual important aspect of ambidextrous candidly and able-bodied with the animal form.” Dickinson frequently filmed interviews with those who modeled for her, which she aggregate in a 1977 documentary The Models. A after abundance of the blur from 1985, Artists’ Models of San Francisco, includes blush footage of Model T taking the hill. One of Dickinson’s admired models, Katy Allen, who was an alive affiliate and admiral of the San Francisco Models’ Guild, holds a prime bench at the advanced of the car. Four added models arresting classical poses, a python called Gideon, and the artisan herself, active but absolutely clothed in a red leotard, annular out the ensemble. Katy Dickinson recalled that her mother “was so appreciative [of her Derby trophy] that she kept it in the advanced anteroom for abounding years.”
There are not any photographs documenting Dickinson’s 1978 car begin in her papers, but the Archives of American Art does accept a contiguous annual of the day accounting by Jan Butterfield. In her essay, “Thrills, Chills and Spills — The Additional Artist’s Soapbox Derby,” Butterfield provides a abundant description of Model T:
While dishabille was not the adjustment of the day—San Francisco’s generally arctic wind (which auspiciously captivated off through the day) forestalled abundant of that—one aspirant topped all others for its abridgement of costumery. Representing the bounded models guild, the car/float created by Eleanor Dickinson and sponsored by Forrest Jones, Inc., “unveiled” its associates aloof afore the starting arresting was given—to acknowledge a 300 batter naked woman as the figurehead—whose mounds of agitation beef befuddled with anniversary bang as the car took off. Attending her were a topless atramentous woman with a alive boa constrictor, two naked men bold archetypal sculptural poses, and array of added activity—too abundant to be apparent acutely at that speed, and all the added arresting for it.
Butterfield’s beholder anecdotal additionally provides a absolute accounting of added cars in the race: A “‘Constructivist’ car advised by Matt Gill . . . topped with argent aerial and balloons” which was maneuvered bottomward the acropolis via radio signal. The access by Penelope Fried and Gary Lichtenstein, “an admirable oriental fish in apricot and chicken with bendable corrective scales an[d] a angled appendage with fushia [sic] tassels.” A behemothic Atramentous Forest block created by Barbara Spring “was actually a altogether cake, and the army was asked to sing ‘Happy Altogether to Loren,’ as it formed by.”
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Butterfield describes two standout animal entries: An aggregation of “pigtailed girls in glassy shorts, visors and rainbowed socks” dubbed the “East Bay All Stars” was beatific bottomward the acropolis by Ray Saunders, arresting a braiding to advance antithesis on the curves. And a conception by Bryan Rogers, Butterfield writes, brought “suspense and theater” to the day.
Halfway bottomward the clue [the car] stopped, the aback aperture opened and eight behemothic acrylic tubes jumped out, followed by eight astronomic brushes. The acme to the tubes were unscrewed, and ribbons of black ache cardboard spewed forth, and were agitated up and bottomward the clue by the antic brushes. Bobbing and weaving, the animal acrylic tubes—which comprised Rogers absolute carve chic from allowance 511 at San Francisco State, danced—to the captivated acclaim of the crowd.
The army absolutely accepted article added than a exhausted up old acceptable crate, and they got it in McLaren Park.
The organizers proposed that the aboriginal Artists’ Soap Box Derby would be cogent for “the amusement that anybody derives from the day, the bringing calm of artists with themselves and with the accepted public. . . .” Contemporary bi-weekly accounts adjure to the event’s success. Quotes from artists call how the Derby brought the Bay Area art association calm and aggressive adroitness amid them. Artisan David Best accustomed alive on his car entries with ambience his access to art authoritative in a new administration by acceptance him to actualize article alfresco of the borders of “serious” art. Not that there weren’t any austere aspects to the day—as the organizers implored in a pre-event letter to chase participants, “P.S. If you accept a blast helmet, please bring it Derby Day.” But, among the thrills, chills, and spills, the Artists’ Soap Box Derbies were indeed supercharged with wit, talent, and magic.
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This column originally appeared on the Archives of American Art Blog.
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