PROJECT

intermediate form [cadillac 1959]

A series of resin and steel sculptures signifying the allure of consumer culture.

The American diner began on wheels and rolled, by rail and road, through most of its journey to become an international icon. It was literally born to travel. 147 years later the diner is still migrating, and for the debut of the first of its kind in the UAE Tihany was commissioned to design a showpiece installation for the restaurant’s now luxurized iteration.  

In “the Las Vegas of the Middle East” habits of the new gilded age run rampant and with predictable results: a disposition for the fetishistic and puerile is cultivating, and with it an appetite for gilded kitsch. The appearance of polished chrome pie vitrines, cherry-red Italian leather barstools, and vintage-styled digital jukeboxes – nestled, no less, beside the heart of the city’s ultra-elite financial district -  indulged a sense of cynicism like that of a building-sized Happy Meal. The only truant detail was a toy garnish.

As the 1959 Cadillac El Dorado is both a symbol for the post-war era that birthed modern consumer culture and a paragon of the most enduring visual aesthetics associated with diners, a set of mounted tail fins made for an irresistible supersized accessory. However, the series is neither nostalgic or homage to the aspirational sentiments once stirred by rocket-inspired motifs; it is conceived as ornamentation for the id, fealty to the culture of toyification, and tribute to the flavor of aspiration aroused by shiny, 420lb tchotchkes.

1st Edition, 1/3

All are now owned by private collectors. 

MEDIUM Fiberglass, Stainless Steel & Resin

Credits

DIRECTOR OF R&D AND MODELING: Michael Marcondes 3D MODELING: Michael Marcondes, Michael Defeo, Stanislav Ilin FABRICATION MANAGER: Owen Weng for Tany Foundry

design & production