HERKIMER PLAYA JITNEY

Artist: Phil Teller

HERKIMER: An Army general during the time of the American Revolution.

PLAYA: Spanish for "beach". Also the affectionate name given to the Black Rock Desert in NW Nevada, the location of the annual Burning Man event where this "art car" made its debut in 2001 and served as public transportation in association with the Black Rock City Post Office.

JITNEY: A mode of public transportation with no particular route or destination. Common to the countries of Southeast Asia, particularly the Phillipines; something between a taxi and a bus.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT:
Originally a medium mint green 1982 Buick LeSabre, this car was purchased for next to nothing as an abandoned vehicle with a bad transmission. Once I had the car running well enough to pass an emissions test with very low numbers, I told a friend that I wanted to build an art car but didn't quite know where to begin. Having never built an art car himself, he told me, "It's easy. Just get out your torch and cut off everything that isn't art."

Now, the car is my art, and continues to evolve. The only parts of this car that were purchased new are the fun caution stickers on the doors, the lettering and the portable CD player. Everything else is either from a garbage can, a garage sale, or a metal scrap yard in Woodinville.

The flamethrower and fire cannon are fully functional and capable of burning a tremendous volume of propane. I am on a first name basis with my local fire department and have been politely asked not to fire the cannon within ANY city limits due to the high number of emergency 911 calls that result.
Black Rock City, however, encourages the practice!

PUBLICITY: Besides being well-photographed & videotaped at Burning Man 2001, the Jitney has often been spotted in the Pacific Northwest: at performances by the Cirque de Flambe, roving the streets of Capitol Hill & the U District, at the grand opening of Funsters Restaurant and Casino in SeaTac, in various Art Car parades & the SeaFair Greenwood parade, at Kaosmosis in Portland, and at the FUNC Recycled Art show in Fremont. It has been featured in an independent movie produced by 3 Dish Studios in Seattle, WA.

FUTURE: The future is wide open for this art vehicle, and the artist is wide open to new opportunities and ideas for putting the Jitney to work! If you are interested in using/renting/displaying/???ing this vehicle for your next project, please contact Phil Teller !

Photo Galleries of the Herkimer Playa Jitney (also linked in text above):