Yugo Next
This sculpture, by Scott Lesiak, a designer from the School of
Visual Arts, in New York City, was on display as part of "Yugo Next,"
at the 1997 Greater St. Louis Auto Show.
Artist Kevin O'Callaghan, a Manhattan School of Visual Arts professor, saw something of beauty in the car that the public has turned its back on. He bought 39 rusty Yugos and asked his students to make objects of functional art from them.
What was remnants of a failed automotive venture became a very popular exhibit drawing crowds to auto shows across the country. Twelve of these recycled Yugos were displayed at the '97 auto show hosted by the St. Louis auto dealers association.
"What do you do when a Yugo don't go? It's about taking a useless product and giving it a new life," said O'Callaghan, also the exhibit's curator. "I was blown away by the concepts. That's the beauty of this, the imagination."
O'Callaghan drew on his experience as a set designer when he headed a project
to stage a show at New York's Grand Central Station. His inspiration to fill
the 20,000 square feet of space came when he saw some New York area children
playing around an abandoned Yugo.
"To me, it looked like the car was in pretty good shape, but I found out
the kid's dad couldn't get it repaired. There are no parts, no warranties.
When the company went out of business, these poor people got stuck with these
cars," said O'Callaghan. By placing an ad in a paper for "Yugos dead or alive,"
O'Callaghan wound up 39 Yugos, mostly dead, for $3,600.
Former Yugo executives probably wish that the cars would have drawn as much attention at auto shows and dealer showrooms as these recycled Yugos do now.
