You know you're cool when someone
brings you a prosthetic leg to pinstripe.
Street rod and car culture devotees
have known of the stellar talents of Von Dutch
for years. Kenneth Howard - the artist known
as Von Dutch - was the beatnik cult artist to
pinstripe your custom car, motorcycle or prosthesis.
Born in 1929 in Los Angeles, Von
Dutch created some of the most original and off-the-wall
designs ever. When he tired of painting and pinstriping
in the late '60s, he built a steam-powered TV
set, restored motorcycles and hand-made guns
and knives with exquisite brass etchings.
Like so many artists, he loathed
the fame and developed a reputation as an eccentric
by turning away lucrative projects and becoming
extremely selective in his projects and clients.
Now the hippest celebrities (and
Dennis Rodman) are making his name famous again,
even if they don't know who he was or what he
did.
These days, the man who considered
himself a mechanic above everything else has
hats, T-shirts, jackets, belt buckles and everything
else you can think of adorned with his name.
Now that you know a little about
the man, you can feel smug donning that shirt
you've been wearing without knowing why.
What would Von Dutch think if
he saw Britney wearing one of his flying eyeball
designs?
Who cares? Remember: It's better
to be dead and cool than alive and uncool.
