Was Roth influenced by Jack Kerouac or Lenny Bruce, or even Mad Magazine?
Neil Cassady loved going fast, but from what I can tell, Roth only used high octane. Instead of influence, I would say confluence. I think that there were many fronts to what became thecounterculture, and Roth, as a designer, was oneof those fronts. Roth had a decidedly blue-collar take on art, and I noticed that in your film Ed disparaged “fine painting” as personified by Robert Williams. On the other hand, his work was pretty far out and avant-garde, as evidenced by the cultural impact he had on future artists. Do you have an insight as to how Ed saw himself in the context of the art world? Roth was a hot rodder. There was lots of iron in his work, but no irony, like in pop art. I particularly like your emphasis on Tom Wolfe’s portrayal of Roth as a true artist and on how using the automobile as a medium captures the kinetic nature of America. Did Ed reference art movements at all such as surrealism or pop art? Roth saw his cars a rolling sculptures but they actually worked mechanica
