Low and Slow

Maggie Kurkoski is a member of the Smith College class of 2012 and the Brown Post-Baccalaureate Curatorial Fellow in the Cunningham Center.

In 1950s southern California, Mexican-Americans began to lower the suspension in their cars, bringing the vehicles closer to the ground. Unlike “hot-rodders” who customized for speed, their motto was “low and slow,” creating custom cars with personalized decoration with which they could cruise through the city streets. These vehicles, and the men who drove them, became known as “lowriders.”

rural roadside, hills in distance with scrub growth, roadside shrine with crucifix in center and benches placed around it, in foreground a green sedan with lighter green painted panels, small child seated in driver's seat, young woman to left standing near hood in blue denim slacks and top, young man with mustache in same patterned denim outfit standing near trunk

^{Meridel Rubenstein. American, b. 1948. Paul, Annabelle, and Paula Medina, Chimayo, '68 Chevy Impala from The Lowriders: Portraits from New Mexico, 1980. Ektacolor 74 print debossed on T. H. Saunders 100 percent rag paper. Purchased with the Madeleine H. Russell, class of 1937, Fund. Photography by Petegorsky/Gipe. SC 2005.1.2.}

As lowrider culture flourished in the 1960s and 1970s, it became more than a shared interest, and grew to encompass a sense of belonging to Mexican-American communities. During periods of segregation and racial discrimination, lowrider clubs proudly displayed their pride in their Latina/o heritage. Catholic imagery, airbrushed portraits of family and girlfriends, and personal designs all reveal what was important to the community, and to the individual artists. Los Unidos, one lowrider club, (pictured below) took on the virgin of Guadalupe as their logo.

desert road, large low building in background, row of cars parked by the side of a dirt road with their owners standing near them, the owner of the first car in line squatting down and holding a black T-shirt with the Virgin and Los Unidos printed on it

^{Meridel Rubenstein. American, b. 1948. Sammy Martinez and Los Unidos - Franke Maestas and Vangie Martinez, Leroy Martinez, Rob Garcia, Delfino Martinez, and Donaldo Valdez - Espanola '68 T-Bird, '66 Chevy Caprice, '70 Supersport, '56 Chevy, '62 Chevy, '49 Chevy from The Lowriders: Portraits from New Mexico, 1980. Ektacolor 74 print debossed on T. H. Saunders 100 percent rag paper. Purchased with the Madeleine H. Russell, class of 1937, Fund. Photography by Petegorsky/Gipe. SC 2005.1.12.}

It is this sense of community that Meridel Rubenstein captures in her photography series, The Lowriders: Portraits from New Mexico. In 1980, she took shots of drivers posed next to their brightly painted vintage cars. In her words, "These cars... are directly descended from a great tradition of Hispanic crafts. The outside of the car must be flamantito or clean. This means they must be perfectly spotless and waxed, and beautifully painted with either metal flake or pearl paint, pin-striped or lacquered with a mural and often a message."

When David Jaramillo died in a car accident, his brothers took on the vintage car that he had been in the process of customizing, and spent thousands finishing the work he had started. The work, titled Dave's Dream, is a '60 Ford LTD with an image of Dave and his family. In Rubenstein's photograph, his widow and young son sit against the car, a testament to his memory and to family.

landscape with blue sky and white clouds in upper left, white garage and low green building in upper right, dark sedan painted with landscape, three portraits and "Dave's Dream", red plush interior, woman wearing white dress in front seat with a child wearing jeans and long-sleeve yellow T shirt

^{Meridel Rubenstein. American, b. 1948. Irene Jaramillo, San Juan Pueblo, '60 Ford LTD from The Lowriders: Portraits from New Mexico, 1980. Ektacolor 74 print debossed on T. H. Saunders 100 percent rag paper. Purchased with the Madeleine H. Russell, class of 1937, Fund. Photography by Petegorsky/Gipe. SC 2005.1.3.}

The women pictured in Rubenstein's portfolio are not pin-up girls in revealing outfits, but owners and partners in this culture. Particularly striking is Peggy Martinez with her '64 Chevy Two-Tone (pictured below). She sits in the driver’s seat, her head resting on her arms, looking straight at the viewer. Her gaze placid and proud.

low hills in distance, lake with moored boats in middle ground, in foreground maroon and grey sedan with young woman seated in driver's seat arms on the window sill

^{Meridel Rubenstein. American, b. 1948. Peggy Martinez, Santa Cruz, '64 Chevy Two-Tone from The Lowriders: Portraits from New Mexico, 1980. Ektacolor 74 print debossed on T. H. Saunders 100 percent rag paper. Purchased with the Madeleine H. Russell, class of 1937, Fund. Photography by Petegorsky/Gipe. SC 2005.1.6.}

It’s this pride that permeates every image of “The Lowriders: Portraits from New Mexico, 1980.” Its clear that Rubenstein recognizes that the owners of these vehicles are artists in their own right, and she honors their work.

desert, low hills and scrubby growth, gold sedan with white top and bronze design in foreground, bare chested young man in blue jeans sitting in driver's seat

^{Meridel Rubenstein. American, b. 1948. Bennino Martinez, Chimayo, '64 Chevy from The Lowriders: Portraits from New Mexico, 1980. Ektacolor 74 print debossed on T. H. Saunders 100 percent rag paper. Purchased with the Madeleine H. Russell, class of 1937, Fund. Photography by Petegorsky/Gipe. SC 2005.1.11.}

long white multi-car garage with green doors, house at back right, red sedan with plush interior in foreground with young man crouched down near the driver's seat

^{Meridel Rubenstein. American, b. 1948. Delano Whitney, Albuquerque, ' 70 Olds Cutlass from The Lowriders: Portraits from New Mexico, 1980. Ektacolor 74 print debossed on T. H. Saunders 100 percent rag paper. Purchased with the Madeleine H. Russell, class of 1937, Fund. Photography by Petegorsky/Gipe. SC 2005.1.10.}

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Low and Slow

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