Review by Lee Halvorsen •
Paolinelli’s powerful images immerse us in the artistry, mechanics, family, faith and community of Albuquerque’s Lowriders. The images are intense, a brilliant mixture of color and black and white bringing each page alive while blending perfectly into a single, heartfelt story. Many of the images are captioned with names and places to give the people and places more context and to create a more personal connection with the reader. The book is not just about the cars, it’s about the community, its art, faith and family expressed in the cars, the ink (tattoos) and their relationships. Paolinelli takes us deliberately through his journey with the Lowriders, whose motto is “Slow. Slow. Slow.” There is so much to see, you’ll miss it if you go too fast.
Paolinelli opens with how he met Sparky, a Lowrider, on the streets of Albuquerque. Over time they became friends and Sparky introduced Paolinelli to others in the Lowrider community. The City of Albuquerque honored the Lowriders by making a parking lot available Sunday afternoons at 7th and Central to meet and to show their cars and this becomes Lowrider Central each weekend. The book’s first image is a portrait of Sparky’s head tattoo and gives us an idea how personal the book will be…