Airstream

Ralph Goings celebrates the American Way of Life with pictures of typically American subjects such as pick-up trucks, highways and diners. However, it is not the motif that Going is mainly interested in, but the challenge it presents to him as a painter: “It’s not the object that I’m concerned with; it’s the painting of the object.” Goings is first and foremost fascinated by light effects, reflections, shadows, making the Airstream vehicle a logical choice of subject for him. This caravan, for many Americans of that time the embodiment of freedom and adventure, has been extolled as a “brilliant artefact of 1960s culture”. Parked on the Tonopah Highway somewhere in the middle of Nevada, the caravan is shown in a strongly foreshortened perspective and takes up the whole width of the painting. The vehicle’s body is drenched in sun light, and the silver, mirror-like surface reflects the colours of the surrounding landscape. Each and every little irregularity in the metal presents the artist with the challenge to accurately capture the subtle transitions between darker and lighter tones, shiny and dull patches. Using only oil paint and brush, Goings developed an incredibly precise technique that yields very smooth surfaces where the individual brushstroke can hardly be discerned anymore. „Airstream“, which was exhibited at the documenta 5 in 1972, is among Going’s best known pictures and is widely admired as a prime example of painterly virtuosity.