Art And Photograhy Essay Research Paper in

Art And Photograhy Essay, Research Paper

in this paper I intend to introduce to the reader, the aims and objectives

which will hopefully set the foundations to the arguments which will be raised

in, the cultural biography of the Volkswagen.

I shall be predominantly observing the Volkswagen beetle in my research,

although, parallels will be drawn by also including the Volkswagen combi which

I believe will help demonstrate and strengthen my overall approach.

We need to understand that the beetle is primarily an object which has been

produced for a specific function to be consumed as a commodity and therefore

has an exchange value associated with it, albeit on a varying scale depending

on its cultural status at the time. The meaning of this consumer item will be

looked at in depth and about the place this thing and its meanings have

within society. This is an interesting aspect as the beetles cultural status

and exchange value have fluctuated along its historical timeline. The question

of meaning raises numerous questions . which will be largely presented

through a discussion of semiotics . about the relations between needs and

objects, nature and culture, meaning and social usage.

In producing a biography of a thing, ie. the Volkswagen beetle combi we need

to approach it in a way similar to that of composing a biography of a person.

We need to ask questions such as, where does the thing come from and who made

it. What has been its career so far, and what do people consider to be an

ideal career for such a thing. What are the recognized “ages. or periods in

the things “life “,and what are the cultural markers for them. How does the

things use change with its age, and what happens to it when it reaches the end

of its usefulness.

Today the beetle, for most people has lost its status as a purely functional

object and has changed into an object full of signs and myths that allude to a

way of life giving the vehicle a certain status within society. We shall be

looking at questions such as who and why would somebody buy a Volkswagen and

what it says about them. And we shall be raising issues like form over

function and when this becomes apparent.

when we look in a historical context of where the beetle came from it is

interesting to note that it came from Hitlers idea of producing a vehicle for

the masses. Volkswagen when translated, becomes “folks wagon” or peoples car

and it is significant that a car that was designed for the masses to unify

and subordinate them into conformity would later on become an expression of

individuality and a symbol of freedom and rebellion.

Hitler wanted to bring to the German people the same freedom of mobility

enjoyed by Henry Ford’s millions of American car owners: hence the term

volkswagen or people’s car. The first production model in 1937 was powered by

an air-cooled engine with the characteristic aerodynamically efficient beetle

shape which added to the little car’s 40 miles per gallon fuel economy.

After WWII production resumed and the first beetles reached the U.S. and

europe in 1949. By the mid 1990’s over 22 million of the original design had

been produced.

The car was affordable transportation for the masses. With its original

purchase price of $200 the VW was, like Ford’s Model-T, quite literally “the

People’s car”. What made it inexpensive to produce was its obvious small size.

What made it also inexpensive to maintain was the high mileage, air-cooled

engine. The conventional water cooled engine requires the additional weight,

expense and maintenance of pump, hoses and radiator. With minimal changes over

the years in body shape or internal structure, the car was endlessly

repairable since parts remained more or less the same, and VW could therefore

capitalize on the long life of its production tooling.

In a sense the VW was a modernist statement which rejected any frills or

decoration that might be superfluous to the car’s basic function. It

demonstrated good workmanship throughout. The basic reliable and easy to

maintain engine was purely functional as was the total design of the car.

Even six foot tall drivers found plenty of head room in the tiny interior.

Beetle Social Factors. By rejecting the American ethos of both the planned

obsolescence through annual model changes and also the excesses of conspicuous

consumption, the homely bug came to represent a 60’s counter culture . It was

indeed the “people’s car” by providing on an international scale affordable

transportation for low income earners. Moreover, the bug was practical in its

simplicity, small size, and durability which endeared it to its loving public.

Interestingly Volkswagen’s advertising was one of the first instances of a

major corporation setting out to market a technology on the basis of its

social virtues. By informing the public of

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