D'Art

The Artist. The Collector and a Goggomobil Dart as the Canvas.

Over a glass of red wine one evening, fine artist Robert Clinch, and collector, Jeff Brown postulated a fun idea,“What if we could find a Goggomobil Dart sports-car and paint Robert’s signature paper darts on it?” And so the story begins. G, O, G-G, O!

What starts as a simple “art car” project quickly reveals itself to be a fascinating mix of art and engineering, combining car racing, automotive design and a passion for collecting art and fascinating objects, in one documentary. Overcoming personal loss, technical issues, and looming time constraints, Robert struggled to deliver the project in time for a major exhibition in Melbourne. The story intertwines exhaustive technical investigation and countless hours of fastidious hand-painting within a historical context, of how the car was designed and marketed in Australia, to produce a truly unique objet d’art.

In an era where car manufacturing in Australia has come to an end, perhaps this project memorialises that change. Robert’s work often depicts industrial decay and evolution and perhaps the D’art project is an uplifting and engaging reflection of the change in our motoring history.

Ultimately, the project celebrates “fun” and is a wild ride through Australian popular culture. Featuring the car’s designer Bill Buckle, enduring actors Tommy Dysart & his wife Joan Brockenshire, who made it a household catchphrase, and the legacy of the Joseph Brown collection, this amusing documentary is supported by some of Australia’s pre-eminent art & car professionals and collectors.

Rating

CTC

Cast

Robert Clinch, Jeff Brown, Bill Buckle, Tommy Dysart, Joan Brockenshire, David Thomas, Lauraine Diggins, Gerard Vaughan, Annie Brown, Bill Hemming, Paul Faulkner, Michael Schoenfeld and Beverley Clinch.

Director

Karl von Möller