At what point does a mass-produced consumer product become art? The Honda Super Cub has been in production since 1958 and proliferated the landscape of humanity by selling over 100 million units. There’s no arguing that the Super Cub is worthy of a place in any design museum as a form of industrial art, but is the Super Cub also worthy of being in art? Honda recently celebrated a milestone anniversary of the Super Cub by asking artists from around the world to interpret the iconic bike on canvas. Here’s what they came up with.
From: Japan, by Noritake
“When I was a child, I saw my grandmother driving a Cub and thought, ‘That’s cool. I want to drive one when I grow up.’ This is the image I had in my head at that time.
From: Japan, by 五月女 Keiko
“In the countryside, Cubs were associated with monks. The mismatch between the robe and the Cub was indescribably stylish, and even now, when I recall it, the smell of the wind in my hometown comes back to me.”
From: Japan, by 100% Orange
“The sound of the Cub’s engine and the clank of the stand is ‘good morning’ to me. Working Cubs are always kind and cool, even if they are battered and bruised.”
From: Australia, by Shane McGowan
“A light sea breeze. A warm sunny day. Let’s ride along the winding Australian coastal road together.”
From: Peru, by Manuel Gómez Burns
“Barranco is the hippest street in the capital city of Lima. Cubs run through the streets where classic architecture and street art mix.”
From: USA, by Nathan Connelly
“I drew the feeling of riding a Cub on the road that stretches to California’s beautiful Mt. Shasta, savoring it slowly without rushing.”
From: Argentina, by Christian Montenegro
“The vast grassland pampas. A father rides his Cub to take his daughter to school early in the morning, and that beautiful bike I saw when I was 14 years old is how I met the Super Cub.”
From: Brazil, by Fernando Chamarelli
“The Honda Biz is a very popular Cub in Brazil. The image is of a Brazilian city full of people’s dreams and imagination. The workers are returning home with the setting sun.”
From: Belgium, by Musketon
“Ghent, where I live, is rich in culture and history. People can move forward by knowing their roots. I believe that respect for such history resides in the Cub.”
From: Thailand, by Jackkrit Anantakul
“Honda Super Cub in my city. I drew about the many relationships that exist on the streets and the LOVE that exists there.”
From: Cambodia, by Chifumi Krohom
“A Cub cab carries two monks on their way to a pagoda (Buddhist temple). The ruins of Angkor Wat are visible in the background.”
From: Vietnam, by Rồng Phạm
“In Vietnam, Cubs are still a longtime friend of the elderly. At a lantern store in a corner of Hoi An, a dog snoozes beside the owner while the owner reads the newspaper.”
From: Indonesia, by R. Yuki Agriardi
“A friendly and reliable partner: the Super Cub. I depicted the son of a flower farmer (a bear cub) driving a Cub loaded with a large bouquet of flowers, along with a flag commemorating the 60th anniversary.”
From: China, by IdleBeats
“Riding through the back alleys of Shanghai in a Cub is great fun. Red bricks, hanging laundry, children. You go through a maze where you can see all the life on the streets.”
From: Philippines, by Raxenne Maniquiz
“The Philippines is known for its beaches and coconut trees, so I tried to incorporate those images. A woman is traveling around the beach on a Cub.”
From: Taiwan, by Teng Yu
“In Taiwan, where transportation in the mid-20th century was almost entirely dependent on motorcycles, the Cub was once popular. Now it is popular among the younger generation as a classic vehicle.”
From Corporate Memphis to Neo-Impressionism, the Honda Super Cub looks great in any art style.
Great pictures! Amazing, how the variety of styles fit with the design of the Cub so nicely. It just fits with every background it gets painted in. Congratulations to all artists.