Legacy

Action figures, over-sized checkers, Hot Wheels, My Little Ponies and wooden blocks — it sounds like the makings of any child’s toy box.

But these toys and about a hundred more once adorned the hood, roof and trunk of Meghan Scuderi’s car.

Scuderi, a sculpture senior, first introduced her splatter-painted masterpiece to the public at the Baton Rouge Art Car Parade last May.

After hearing about the parade, Scuderi decided to get some friends, beer and toys together and begin decorating. She said it took about two days to perfect the car. When it was finished, she christened her new ride “Zang” — a name she said means “the embodiment of cool.”

Scuderi and her friends bought the toys from a thrift store at Cortana Mall; many of them originally came from fast food kids’ meals.

A passerby noticed the car one day and asked Scuderi if she could contribute to the art project on wheels.

“She was drunk and wearing a muumuu and wanted to paint on my car,” Scuderi recalled. “She painted these lips on the back and a duck as well.”

Bill Kelley, a recording engineer in the LSU School of Music, created the Web site CultureCandy.org after moving to Louisiana from Houston.

“I came from [Houston], and not much was happening culturally here,” Kelley said. “So my idea was to ‘rev’ up the culture scene in Baton Rouge.”

Kelley organized the Art Car Parade and other art initiatives to gather the city’s culture into a more central outlet. The parade, he hoped, would not only inspire artists, but bring joy to all Baton Rouge citizens.

“I’ve seen people who might be upset and not having a great day,” he said. “Then they see your car and they look like they’ve been punched in the face with a bucket of candy.
I feel like some people get a lot of pleasure out of it.”

In the parade, the toy-box charm of Scuderi’s ’95 Toyota Corolla fit right in with the other cars, some of which were covered in hot air balloon stickers, mirrors, psychedelic art ¬¬— one was even crowned with a toilet seat.

Today, the toys on Scuderi’s car are gone, except for a checker, a Blue’s Clues trinket and the bottom of a Polly Pocket toy, along with a few others. The paint is chipped and flaking in places and some of the artwork has faded.

Scuderi was helping move a friend in to his new apartment last August when she noticed a group of children from the apartment complex marveling at her car. She offered to let the kids take the toys they wanted.

“Moms were yelling at their children to ‘leave that car alone,’” she said. “I had to run over and tell them, ‘No! No! It’s OK.’”

Curious children aren’t the only ones who have shown interest in Scuderi’s unique ride. She’s fielded stares and comments from onlookers throughout the city.

“I’ve gotten some great reactions, like ‘What the fuck?’ or ‘Oh my god!’” Scuderi said.

The authorities have also taken notice of the moving piece of art. “Cops have even pulled me over just to take pictures of it,” she said.

Scuderi is already thinking about what she could do for the next Art Car Parade.

“I’m thinking about doing something with panels of canvas that would go on the car,” she said.

Scuderi said her art project has received much more attention than she anticipated.

“My car’s a celebrity,” Scuderi said. “But having that infamy makes me realize I never wanna be famous.”