Car owners know how hard it can be to keep a vehicle clean. It doesn’t seem to matter the weather or location, a little drive seems to easily result in a dusty or muddy vehicle. But what if a dirty car could be more than just a nuisance? Russian-based illustrator Nikita Golubev is turning dirty vehicles into incredible works of art that liven up the local area and add new meaning to what we consider street art.
The Dirty Car Art Project
Nikita Golubev, who also goes by ProBoyNick, is making waves on social media with his Dirty Car Art project and the hashtag #dirtpainting. Treating muddy vehicles across Moscow as canvases, the self-educated artist is drawing everything and anything on the sides of cars, trucks, and vans. Using his paintbrushes, his fingers, and gloves, Nikita will art create his art on already dirty vehicles that are safely parked. One of his most iconic works so far is a haunting owl, etched into the dirt on the backside of a commercial van. The greys, blacks, and whites of his finished dirty car artworks overall create a haunting, moving, and captivating pictures.
Before starting the Dirty Car Art project, Nikita worked in a variety of art fields like digital, portrait, street, and plain air painting. (1, 2)
Car Vandalism
If you are thinking about creating your own dirt car art, definitely start with your own vehicle or a vehicle you have permission to touch from a friend. Even though drawing art on a car may not cause overt damage, defacing another person’s vehicle is still vandalism and can truly offend a car owner. Penalties for intentional and evident vandalism could include a fine, police charges, community service, and in some cases jail. Therefore, always seek permission before beginning a dirty car masterpiece – even if you have the best intentions and are an excellent artist! (3)
Other Forms Of Emerging Street Art
Street art, like Nikita’s works, is becoming more diverse and unique all the time. Traditional graffiti in alleys and other commercial spaces still thrives in American cities, but new projects to urban centers include yarn-bombing, sculpture, tiling, and painting in unique settings.
Another great example of burgeoning street art is the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps in San Francisco. What makes this street project unique, beyond the medium of tiles, is the community nature of the project. Completed in 2005, the steps were designed by neighborhood residents, sponsored by locals, and built by numerous participants living in the area. The artists overseeing the project, Aileen Barr and Collette Crutcher, held community workshops so that anyone who wanted to assist in building the tiles could. Today, the steps are a stunning piece of street art representing sea to sky built for and by the locals. (3)
How Do You Feel About Dirty Car Art?
Nikita’s masterpieces are fleeting and are perhaps the most temporary form of street art discovered to date. A single rain or snowfall can forever erase the artwork he has done. For some art lovers, this impermanence is apart of the beauty of the dirty car art project. Several people even see the works as equivalent to a random act of kindness – by taking something dirty and making it beautiful a car owner’s day can be made.
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Other Facebook commentators wonder about the possibility of advertising pop-ups and other small events using dirty car art. Certainly, Nikita’s works are all eye-catching and he has in the past wrote small messages into some of his car projects, like the Lord’s prayer. Likely wouldn’t cost much to get an advertisement either if you already have a dirty car.
What are your thoughts on dirty car art? Is fine art still art to you when it’s on the side of a car?
I personally imagine this extremely popular European art form, which has gone viral worldwide, will eventually reach us in America. Keep your eyes peeled for art popping up on cars on the road, and be sure to leave your vehicle dirty if you want to support local artists!
Check out his Facebook page for more dirty car artworks, and to see what else he comes up with next!
