el camino

Trabantimino, completed just one hour before its October 7 opening at Salon 94, welds three aspects of car culture, says photographer Liz Cohen, who spent 8 years building the hybrid: ownership, fabrication and marketing. Aiming to combine design features of two defunct models, representing different cultures-- the East German Trabant and the Chevy El Camino truck--Cohen learned mechanical engineering from several mentors at World Wide Customs, Oakland; Elwood Body Works, Scottsdale, and Kustom Creations in Detroit. In a parody of automotive marketing protocol, Cohen also posed as a pin-up. The show, at Salon 94's reopened gallery, 243 Bowery, includes a wall of 150 b&w prints of tools borrowed from Bill Cherry, Cohen's first mechanic mentor, to make the hybrid, as well as Cohen's pin-up prints and ephemera. For more details, email info@salon94.com. Filmed by Liza Béar, on October 7 and 8. http://squaringoff.blip.tv