The End of the Automobile Era is Near.

The works of Sculptor Thomas Aitken record the drama of the

car-centric culture in America. Andy Warhol said:

“When they dig up our culture they will find the Campbell’s Soup can.”

Tj believes they will find storage enclaves with classic cars,

squirreled away by boomer fanatics and remnants of

car components everywhere. The automobile was invented just

at the turn of the twentieth century. This machine transformed the landscape

and the living patterns of the world. The impact has been

dramatic. The time period for this phenomena is

now winding down as fossil fuel use is not

sustainable long term. Soon it must end and

we will find different ways to manage transportation.

ArtPrize Proposals

My art work is derived from a life and career inside the car culture. As a design sculptor of

show cars I learned from the old timers about line, contour and mass in which to capture

emotion. As I have studied the history of cultures and art I see themes repeating in faster and

faster cycles. So the car is just a late addition to a long stream of artistic object development.

But look at the energy expended to pave the planet with our roads, forge our steel into

machines, and continuously grow the market so there is one in every garage!  It changed us.

Catch Tj on  or

Tj's Current Shows:

Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts - May 30 through June 14

Muskegon Musuem of Art Regional Exhibition - May 28 through August 5

Logsdon Gallery Chicago - by appointment

Sculptures on the Square, Troy Ohio - May through August

Tj works on three different themes but all with an automotive root. Find out more about sculpture.

Theme 1: Impact Series From the auto culture's powerful alteration of human society. These studies, in many scales and materials, are from an alliteration, a commentary on American dependency on the automobile. There are three modules to this series.

Figurative forms -studies for Major Impact

Major Impact Installation

Finally, the pure metaphorical illustration of the effects of the car on us humans has been a springboard to wonderful figurative studies. My massive 50 Hudson looked so heavy, like a stone tossed to our planet, skipping along creating marks on the earth and finally splashing to a halt, displacing the original environment, pushing the ground in front of it and spraying people aside to new locations. The figures become fluid, and the impact of the automobile transforms them. When you look down through the ages no object has created so much change on the planet as the auto. The blip in history is miniscule but the impact great. And it has happened quickly unraveling us from the landscape.

  Major Impact- Installation rendering (ongoing) car, cement figures, landscaping 35ftX 15ftX 7ft

Theme 2: The Nikes

Abstract portraits of vehicles The Nikes refer to ancient sculptures found by archeologists. Constructed on three scales: Monumental (life size cast stone -pictured above), Pedestal (about 30" castings) and Maquette.

Road Rocket (bronze)

57 Descending A Switchback

My first series, the "Nikes" speaks to the found art object from the past. These pedestal mounted designs capture the design essence of our antiques with many components missing. They are trophies recognizable as venerable objects from the conquering culture of the car. The intense focus on form language used in auto design has been condensed into new pieces with the original bits carefully preserved for viewing.

Theme 3: The OverHeads

Modern American Tribal Worship Art "What's in Your Worship?"

These mask-like works address the modern spiritual conditions that mass production has spawned. The car kicked off the assembly line and this society. Car parts are the basic materials for these works. An automotive overhead console often has a very primitive "face." This attribute has been elaborated on with shredded tires, upholstery and other items to produce objects that prompt reflection on who and how we really are.

Movie Clip: Embarassment & Anger Tempered with Self-Pity mobile