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Stickers and Eyelashes: Automobile Decoration in Moroccan Cities
Abstract
This paper is an examination of users’ and owners’ decoration of motorized vehicles found in large urban centers of Morocco. The decoration can be understood as a less intrusive form of tinkering defined by Kathleen Franz in her 2005 analysis of early twentieth century American vehicular augmentations. My focus is primarily on contemporary work vehicles used to haul persons or goods, such as taxis, camios, and trucks. Time permitting, analysis of personal moped and automobiles will also be considered. Based on fieldwork in Rabat/Salé, Casablanca, Marrakesh, and Tangier, I document and analyze the meaning of types of décor. Inspired by Franz, I argue that the vehicles and the process of creating them both announce and become the means through which the creators craft belief and value systems. As moveable exhibits, the vehicles reveal visual languages that express life histories and senses of identity and place within society and the city.
Discipline
Art/Art History
Geographic Area
Morocco
Sub Area
Cultural Studies