paul sahre: 12 ft cardboard monster truck hearse for they might be giants

giant pink monster truck hearse by paul sahre for they might be giants all images courtesy of paul sahre

the new york-based graphic design and illustration office of paul sahre was commissioned by american alternative rock / art group they might be giants (TMBG) to produce the cover art for the band’s 2011 release ‘join us’. one of the proposed images which sahre sent to TMBG was that of a monster truck hearse which stuck with the members and was developed further into the final graphic. as the project progressed, it evolved beyond the initial brief into what lead to the design of a CD, digital art for iTunes, digital booklets, posters, t-shirts, ads and more than a dozen illustrations. as part of the collaboration, the TMBG wanted to produce a viral video depicting the making of a monster truck hearse, but there was back and forth conversation between them and sahre about whether anybody would even want to watch a video of someone making this paper car. so, they decided to produce a video which was actual instructions on how to make your very own full-size 12 foot tall monster truck hearse via an epic downloadable PDF to be scaled at 3400%.

‘when will you die?’ – they might be giants official music video featuring the making and demolition of the giant pink monster truck hearse

the hearse, featured in the they might be giants ‘when will you die? video was originally thought to take two weeks to build, but the life-sized model ended up taking approximately four months to complete, and only 5 minutes to destroy, at which point all the parts were recycled at T N T scrap in brooklyn, new york.

hoisting up the body of the monster truck

printed and built at A toA solutions studio in stamford, connecticut, USA, the structural framework of the hearse was made up of 30 fed ex poster tubes that were clad with approximately 6000 square feet of cardboard. ten hot glue guns and 20 pounds of flour (used to make wheat paste) were used to adhere the printouts to cardboard. it took more than 40 hours to print downloadable PDF out at 3400%. when complete, the monumental work measured 13 ft. tall x 13 ft. wide x 22 ft. long, weighing 500 lbs and occupied a storage space of 30 x 10 x 10 feet. it took 8 people in total to lift and turn the monster truck in order to steer it properly. the final cost of the entire venture for the hearse and video production was 10, 000 USD.

constructing the more than 5 feet tall wheels

wheels waiting to be installed

testing out the wheels

working on the finishing touches

detail

getting ready for action…

rolling the truck out

transporting the vehicle to the demolition site

no monster truck hearse is complete without a giant boombox

documentation of the ‘making process’ of the hearse

tiled print out of the wheel scaled at 3400%

paul sahre’s sketch to TMBG which stuck and became the working graphic for the cover art

the ‘making of’ monster truck hearse

video of the monster truck hearse’s demolition

paul sahre was a speaker at this year’s design indaba conference. since 1995, the annual event held in cape town, has been committed to a vision that is built on the belief that creativity will fuel an economic revolution in south africa. as such, design indaba is a celebration of design in a country iconic of the triumph of the human spirit. proof that even the most intractable problem can be neutralized by the will of the people, the resurgent country is a beacon to the world. design indaba typifies this can-do spirit through its belief in design and how it can help solve the problems faced by an emerging economy. with the right support, a better future can be designed.

by attracting the world’s brightest talent, design indaba has become a respected institution on the creative landscape and one of the few global events that celebrates all the creative sectors – graphic design, advertising, film, music, fashion design, industrial design, architecture, craft, visual art, new media, publishing, broadcasting and performing arts sector. besides the flagship conference and expo,design indaba has grown into a multitiered experience that incorporates an extensive range of elements such as events, publications, education, training, business, development and community initiatives.