Learn By Doing

A Lifelong Learner Shares Thoughts About Education

Ford Falcon as Art Car as Weapon of Mass Instruction

Now, all I have to do is mod an old golf cart to equip our school hallway with something like this.  Does anyone have one to share?  I can provide the students.

Art Car as “Weapon of Mass Instruction”


(photo by Raul Lemesoff)

Art Car or Book Tank? A little bit of both I’d say. Built from a welded frame atop a 1979 Ford Falcon (a vehicle popular with the then-ruling military junta), Argentinian art-car maker Raul Lemesoff drives around the streets of Buenos Aires distributing free books to all – titled Arma De Instruccion Masiva, or Weapon of Mass Instruction, Raul will pull over for anyone asking for a free book! Motorcyclists and pedestrians will even take books off his car while he’s stopped at lights. Stocked with private-donation books, one of Raul’s main objectives is – and I’m translating here – “to contribute to peace and understanding of people [through literacy].” This includes not only tours through Argentina’s urban capital, but also trips into the countryside where many children don’t attend school – and after many years in Argentina, Raul has recently plotted trips north to Bolivia and Peru. Fascinating!

‘Raul Lemesoff, an Argentine art-car artist, has taken a 1979 Ford Falcon that used to belong to the Argentine armed forces and turned into a ‘Weapon of Mass Instruction.’ Armed with 900 or so books Lemesoff travels the streets of Buenos Aires and beyond offering free books to all. He sees his ‘Weapon of Mass Instruction’ as a "contribution to peace through literature."

[via Post Growth – thanks Jason for the tip!]