ROUND, BLACK, STICKY—AND ARTFUL (REDUX)

’WAY BACK WHEN SIMANAITISSAYS WAS YOUNG, “Round, Black, Sticky—And Artful,” April 7, 2014, celebrated the Discount Tire Company’s collection of poster art. Indeed, I visited its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Above, Excelsior Pneumatique, c. 1908, by Theopald Schom, 27 x 38 1/4 in. Below, the same setting these days (see Lago di Garda).

This time around, the Phoenix Art Museum’s Samantha Andreacchi announces the museum’s “Modern Trends: The Discount Tire Poster Collection.” It is being curated in the Lower Level Katz Wing of PHXART, at 1625 North Central Avenue, Phoenix. The exhibition, running from June 3, 2026, through January 3, 2027, has 15 oversize posters dating from the first three decades of the 20th century. 

Here are several of these objets d’art, together with tidbits recalling the Copperstate 1000 benefitting PHXART, an annual tour of fascinating machines traveling, appropriately, more than 1000 kilometers and less than 1000 miles through marvelously varied regions of Arizona. Wife Dottie and I enjoyed these adventures from the inaugural event in 1991 to our continued participation more than a decade later.

Pneus Gallus, by Yvonne Brudo, c. 1900. Color lithograph on paper. This and following from Collection of Discount Tire. 

About the Exhibition. The museum notes, “Following the urbanization of Paris,  industry  giants such as  Michelin,  Dunlop,  Continental, Pirelli, and Goodyear  followed the footsteps  of talented lithographers and  recognized  posters  as an  effective  form of communication. Drawn exclusively from the Collection of Discount Tire, the posters trace both artistic innovation and industrial transformation.”

Roi de la Souplesse (The King of Suppleness), by Achille Butteri, c. 1910. Color lithograph on paper. 

“Unfolding across four overarching themes,” PHXART recounts, “the exhibition reveals how artists played a vital role in shaping the imagery and ideals of a rapidly modernizing world. Through bold graphics, luminous color, and innovative storytelling, Art in Motion highlights the surprising relationship between rubber manufacturing and modern art. Tire companies turned to artists working in styles ranging from classical antiquity to movements such as Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Impressionism to create compelling advertising imagery. The Golden Radius focuses on the symbolic power of the tire within a culture driven by speed, mobility, and aspiration. Advertisements framed tires as gateways to freedom and exploration, encouraging viewers to envision journeys across real and imaginative terrain.”

Continental Pneumatik, by Julis Gipkiens, 1914. Color lithograph, printed by Hollerbaum und Schmidt, Continental AG Archives, Hanover, Germany. 

“Wheels of Change,” the description continues, “explores innovation in pneumatic design and acknowledges the material origins of rubber and its transformation into a global commodity essential to modern life. The final theme, Industry and Reform, addresses the human and environmental consequences of this growth and the transition to sustainable production methods. These themes are discussed in depth through an audio tour featured on the Museum’s digital guide.”

Goodyear, by Bordio, c. 1930. Color lithograph on paper.

PHXART adds, “Visitors can further explore the visual culture of the automobile through representations of Bibendum, the Michelin tire mascot first introduced at the 1894 world’s fair in Lyon, France, and period automotive fashions from the Phoenix Art Museum Collection.”

My Personal Bibendums (er… Bibenda).  As recounted in “Bubblegram Memories,” it was the French artist Marius Rossillon, known as O’Galop, who originated the Michelin Man in his 1898 image “Nunc est Bibendum,” Latin for “Now is the time to drink.” The image celebrated Michelin tires’ resistance to broken glass.” 

One of my Michelin Monsieur Bib objets d’art is this laser crystal celebrating motor sports. 

Other Bibdena in the house are usually perched atop the piano, amidst a terracotta X’ian warrior, a Japanese Hello Kitty, a model Alan Rickman portraying Professor Severus Snape, and a Kenyan lion (Wife Dottie was a Rickman fan as well as a Leo).

Copperstate Memories. As noted at “Morgan on the Copperstate,” SimanaitisSays, March 21, 2013, “Wife Dottie and I go way back with the Copperstate, in fact, to its first running in 1991. For many of these events—more than a decade of them altogether—we often ran our Morgan 1965 Plus Four 4-Passenger Family Tourer. 

Above, the first Copperstate, 1991. Spence Young, rest his soul, offered us a drive in his 1961 rhd Roadster. Below, a sample of the event’s checkpoints over the years.

Usually held in early April, the 36th annual Copperstate (ran April 11-15, 2026) celebrated the 100th anniversary of Route 66. Our participatory years included desert settings, snowy Alpine scenery, and occasionally baking heat (not on the same running, mind). 

A high point of personal entertainment was getting passed by a Navajo school bus.

Back to Museum Exhibits. Together with the Copperstates, I’ve enjoyed interesting art exhibitions at PHXART: Over the years, these include “Haring Warhol and Disney,” “It’s Only Rock and Roll,” “Frank Lloyd Wright and Japanese Art,” “Curves of Steel,” and “Legends of Speed.” 

Modern Trends: The Discount Tire Poster Collection, running June 3, 2026 through January 3, 2027, promises to be another fascinating exhibition. Good for you, PHXART! ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2026