Art Basel: Mini Coopers as Art
Roving Art Basel Installation Designed by Local Artist Aleloop
By John Zur
The talk of the town during 2011’s Art Basel might be a roving caravan of multi-colored Mini Coopers. Coconut Grove resident, Aleloop (a.k.a. Alejandra Leibovich), has designed a unique mobile art installation of ten Mini Coopers, decked out in her original art, to pop up in the most surprising of places during Art Basel. From December 1st through the 4th, the caravan will transport forty performers from fairs to parties to galleries to restaurants, where they will then entertain the masses.
Aleloop hails from Argentina. She came to the United States in 1997 and quickly found her artistic talents employable. Moving for work, she spent time in cities including Los Angeles and Atlanta – creating for Cartoon Network – before her services brought her to Nickelodeon and MTV in Miami. While with the latter networks, Aleloop had the responsibility of designing the look of the channels from scratch. She likened the process to “branding and fine graphics.” It was also while with Nickelodeon and MTV that Aleloop became comfortable working on large projects: skills she utilized while tackling her Art Basel installation.
Her specialty of integrating animated characters and worlds with live action elements garnered her more than 20 Promax awards, given to the top television motion graphic designers.
When MTV moved to South America, Aleloop seized the opportunity to stay in the Magic City and develop her own brand, acknowledging that name recognition was something she didn’t receive while working in television.
In 2009, Aleloop began painting the sketches of the cartoon characters she was creating. Her gift for painting netted her six gallery shows in the first four months, and over twenty shows in the first year, of her sole endeavor.
Domestic and international collectors have caught onto Aleloop’s work. Her work has also appeared at Comic Con San Diego, Optic Nerve at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami, G40 Art Summit, Art Whino, Art Link International, Pop Santa Fe, Lunar Boy Gallery, and many other spots.
While Aleloop wanted to prepare for Art Basel, all of her originals were either “hanging or sold.” She said she hadn’t enough time to paint enough for a booth at Art Basel, even though that was her goal. That was when her husband got the idea to obtain ten Mini Coopers (as they had one already), wrap them in her art, and parade them through Art Basel. It would be “impossible not to get attention,” said Aleloop.
Within ten days of actively seeking owners to hand over the keys to their Minis, let Aleloop wrap the Mini in her art, and have yet more strangers drive it around during Art Basel, she had more than enough responses. “Fun, playful, and fast,” said Aleloop, using adjectives that describe both her art and the Mini Cooper.
With the wrapped Minis in place, Aleloop and her husband then pondered “What else can we do?” The idea came to them to unleash a “flash mob” of performers at various Art Basel gatherings. With each performer wearing an Aleloop t-shirt, displaying her art, the acts will simultaneously show off their talents. The artists include dance groups, musical acts, a comedian, a magician, and a juggler – with everyone climbing out of the Mini Coopers on the spot.
The 10 MINI Coopers will feature thematically designed artwork with whimsical characters created by Aleloop with their own personalities and stories. Featured themes include: Fine Arts, Grunge, Video Game, DJ, MINI ME, Free Hand, Comics, Pattern, Driver and Nature.
“It’s a very interesting story of the owners,” said Aleloop. She explained that those whose vehicles will be used during the art installation were strangers to her and that the only conditions she had were that the cars be available for her project and that the art be left on the Mini Coopers once returned. She said she had no idea, when she initially set out to do the project, how the art would come to have meaning to the owners and vice versa. While wanting to capture this unique experience in photos and video, she was presented the opportunity to have a film crew chronicle the experience in a documentary that will be called “The Making of a Spectacle.”
The public has the opportunity to drive home a piece of the art installation, as Aleloop is holding a contest through her website, and Facebook, in which contestants are asked to write a mini-essay on what they would do with a Mini Cooper wrapped in her art. The winner receives a one year, pre-paid lease on a Mini Cooper.
The Mini Coopers and their performers will be the featured act Saturday, December 3, in Wynwood at the food trucks’ lot. The address is 2100 NW 2nd Avenue. The show, dubbed “Aleloop’a Palooza,” will kick off at 6pm and go until midnight.
On Sunday, December 4, the cars can be seen at the Red Dot Art Fair located on North Miami Avenue. More information and directions, please visit reddotfair.com.
While the Art Basel schedule isn’t set in stone, it will be available on Aleloop’s website. For more information on Aleloop and her work, please visit aleloop.com.
