Chris Machin and The Art of Kustom Kulture

I was selling some old things on my front yard earlier today when a muscular surfer-lookin fellow bought a little 1960's lamp I had.  After chatting for a bit he told me he had opened up a shop on Main St in Nyack called Kool Freaking Creations (www.koolfreakingcreations.com).  I went over for a visit and had a blast!  He and his wife Sharon opened up this awesome store about two months ago.  Essentially Chris starts with antiques from the 50's or 60's (sometimes working, sometimes not), strips their paint or finish, sometimes combines them with pieces of other antique objects, and with enamel paint transforms them into crazy psychedelic monsters!  I asked Chris if there were other artists out there making art like this.  He explained to me that this type of art is called Kustom Kulture.  Here is a description of the art genre from Wikipedia...

Kustom Kulture is usually identified with the greasers of the 1950s, the drag racers of the 1960s, and the lowriders of the 1970s.  In the early days of hot rodding, many fashions and styles developed. Over time, each of these distinct styles of customizing have blended and reshaped our everyday life. Artists such as Von Dutch (Kenny Howard), custom car builders such as Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and Dean Jefferies, hot rod and lowridder customizers such as the Barris Brothers (Sam and George Barris, along with numerous tattoo artists, automobile painters, and movies and television shows such as American Graffiti , Happy Days, The Munsters (The Munster Koach, Drag-u-la) and The Monkees (The Monkeemobile) have all helped to form what is known as Kustom Kulture.

Another great thing about Chris Machin's art is that its priced to sell.  I just wish I had some spare change so I could pick up some of this Kool stuff.

FYI this wall piece is not one of Chris'.  But I love it!