french art deco interior design
>> deborah: welcome to "northcarolina weekend." i'm deborah holt noel. art can have onlookers,admirers, and critics. but it doesn't usuallyhave passengers. rob holliday takes us inside anexhibit at the north carolina museum of art where some ofthe subject material has a steering wheel. >> it wasn't created by monet orrodin, but make no mistake, this is still a french piece worthyof display in an art museum.
this 1938 talbot-lago t-150-c-ssteardrop is one of more than a dozen vehicles taking residencein a place usually associated with frames instead of fenders. they're calledrolling sculpture. >> it's our second carexhibition, but this one takes you back to the 1930s and the'40s, and we're dealing with absolutely spectacularautomobiles. >> some from mainstreammanufacturers like chrysler and bmw, but most of the 17 vehiclesin the north carolina museum of
art's rolling sculptureexhibition are from makers you probably haven't heard of likebugatti, stout, and delahaye, and were hardly mass-produced. >> very rare. some were only one created andone surviving. >> indeed, five of the vehicleson display are one of a kind, including this 1938hispano-suiza dubonnet and 1930 henderson kj streamlinemotorcycle. many of the cars that were madein larger numbers are still part
of a handful that remain today. >> some were concept vehicleswhere parts of the engineering were later improved andincorporated in later models where the actual prototype wasnever actually produced as such. >> but the rarity of thesevehicles is only one thing that connects them. it's their design and art decostyle has brought them into a museum that focuses on art. >> this one ties into the artworld, which is quite
remarkable, with the art decostyle, so this is absolutely suitable for an art museum. the car actually fits in aninternational art museum, so that right off thebat is unusual. because you don't see pop art cars. you have art deco cars. >> made when the art form wasmost popular, art deco was known for -- >> bright colors, chrome
headlights, very smooth lines,teardrops, like the teardrop fenders, for example. >> represented in several of thecars on display, including this 1938 delahaye roadster and 1941chrysler thunderbolt. >> art that you can actually useinstead of just look at. you can drive it. it's also a piece of art. that's what i enjoy about it. >> these vehicles may beshowpieces, but that's not to
say they can't move under theirown power. >> all the cars are actuallyoperational. >> that certainly appears to bethe case with the talbot-lago, the first car to greet visitorsas they arrive to the exhibition. >> the very first car wasreally spectacular. i thought the teardropshape was nice. i loved the art deco styles. they were justwonderfully created.
the craftsmanship and the beautyof the lines of the cars was impressive. >> as you would expect, the carsare the main attraction, but to get the full context of therolling sculpture exhibit, it's worth is to check out theinformation panels that describe these cars. they list information for a layaudience, and examples of other forms of art deco style. >> the labels also will helpthose who might not be car
people, because we've infused asmuch historical and artistic and cultural context in those labelsto sort of give you the history of the car, of the era, how theytie into the art world. >> it helps give visitorssomething else to enjoy. this exhibit is designed fora far greater audience than car enthusiasts. >> a lot of people have beentalking about how fabulous the colors are. others will like theengineering features.
don't say that the first one inthe show is your favorite. wait until you've seen all ofthem, because it keeps getting better as you walk through theexhibition. >> in raleigh, i'm rob hollidayfor "north carolina weekend."