Coca-Cola Truck’s in NYC
The Coca-Cola truck is such an omnipresence in New York City, that for most, it goes un-noticed. The ubiquity & ease of access to Coca-Cola for consumption does not happen by chance. It is deliberate and methodical to quench the thirst of the masses. The classic economic adage ‘demand creates supply’ is false. Correct is the inverse; ‘supply creates demand.’ The scale of Coca-Cola in New York City is rarely thought of and its effects are multiplicitous.
As a wholesale to retail distributor of local NYC products, I experience Coca-Cola Trucks on a daily basis. I have been documenting my encounters with them as if they were the ‘white whale’ and whenever I see one as I drive in my van, I take as many photographs of the truck as I pass. This is ‘chance operation/art brut’ photography. I am shooting rapid fire without focus or shot composition. This style has created a unique document of the Coca-Cola truck in the ocean of NYC.
This work affirms my inclination to use art to suggest an alternative to the status quo. That alternative can be political, cultural, economic or social. I want to create such a solid case for the elimination of Coca-Cola from New York City that anyone who sees the art project will agree with me, even if then enjoy the beverage. This project also challenges the Pop Art of Andy Warhol and his iconic ‘Coca-Cola’ image. His glamorization of that product enabled Coca-Cola to become ‘hip’ and perhaps gain cultural traction. I maintain that Warhol was not critiquing Coca-Cola, but merely adding a layer of advertising to a product that should have been diminished and forgotten. This project also employs John Cage’s use of ‘chance operations’ as I never know when I will see the next Coca-Cola truck while driving, and when I do that is my cue to photograph.
I would like to transform this photography into part of an argument for a city wide initiative that calls for the banning of Coca - Cola from New York City. I will employ empirical research into the health care costs, environmental impact, traffic congestion, land use issues and the economic costs of this product. By photographing the trucks and altering the photographs, I will suggest an alternative use of the trucks, or attempt to erase them from the City-scape itself using digital alteration of the photography. Also the sheer number of photographs can be viewed as an archive of my experience encountering these trucks on the City streets.
Research materials:
Coca Cola Distribution Center Queens New York
5840 Borden Ave, Flushing, NY 11378
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