What you see here is a replica of the original ‘Light’ bus, a Volkswagen Type 2 van made famous after its appearance at the legendary Woodstock Art and Music Fair 50 years ago. Dr. Bob Hieronimus, the original artist responsible for the creation of the artwork on the iconic van that had graced countless media and news outlets, did the magic again and boy, I must say it has the same magical effects it had in 1969. Seriously, VW bus itself was endearing enough and the psychedelic artwork just make it even more alluring even after 5 decades.
“The eye-popping van is the result of a three-year endeavor with Hieronimus and Canadian documentarian John Wesley Chisholm to recover and recreate the van ahead of Woodstock’s milestone anniversary.“
The original plan was to locate the star bus, a 1963 Standard Microbus, that Hieronimus painted in 1968 and restore it, but after six months of futile search, Hieronimus and Wesley decided to build a replica instead. The duo turned to Kickstarter to help acquire an exact model of the original ‘Light’ bus and begin a painstaking restoration process. The artwork alone took Hieronimus and a team of five artists six weeks to recreate. The result is an absolutely stunning VW bus. One that seemingly transport you to the golden 60s.
The ‘Light’ bus replica was unveiled last weekend at the Orange Country Transporter Organization (O.C.T.O.) Winter Meet in Long Beach, California, U.S.A. VW fans, petrol heads, and art aficionados alike were treated this art meet history on wheels on Saturday (February 16, 2019) at Long Beach Veteran’s Memorial Stadium. The replica of the Woodstock icon will be going on a cross-country tour leading up to the music festival’s 50th anniversary.
All images courtesy of Volkswagen.
