¡Viva Viclas!: The Art of the Lowrider Motorcycle

Well, they’re putting a bunch of motorcycles in CAM Raleigh, and we can’t say we’re 100 percent sure it’s going to play. But before we automatically lump this in with a certain other Raleigh museum’s ill-advised Porsche show from a few years ago, let’s consider the provenance and context. ¡Viva Viclas! The Art of the LowRider Motorcycle focuses on the American Chicanx culture of motorcycle customization, with ten privately owned bikes from the West and Southwest, each rich with story, and nine supplementary artworks. The exhibit was curated by Denise Sandoval—a professor of Chicano/Chicana Studies at California State University, Northridge, who has long worked on lowrider culture both academically and curatorially—and historian Ken Gross, who directs the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The artists, who include OG Able, Adriana Avila, Eren Cannata, and Mr. Cartoon, will be discussing the exhibit in the museum on a weekly basis, from this First Friday opening until it closes on February 9. Much rides on the museum’s presentation choices, but this is a far cry from gawking at Ralph Lauren’s Porsche.