In the early morning hours of May 11, Houston lost a dear friend. Fifty-one-year-old Tom Jones, curator and spokesperson for the Art Car Museum, was basking in the glow of another successful Art Car Parade, chatting with friends outside the museum after the traditional Illuminated Cruise, when a drunk driver hit a parked car, which in turn hit Jones and pinned him under it. He later died at Ben Taub during surgery. Though he was intrinsic to daily operations at the Art Car Museum, as well as dedicated to his own pursuits as an artist and as a champion of the Art Car "lifestyle," Jones was probably best known for his trademark "Swamp Mutha," a 1982 Chevy Monte Carlo layered in provocative imagery and adorned with all manner of swampy critters. A symbol of the urban frontier, "Swamp Mutha" now symbolizes Jones's unique contribution to Houston's cultural history. A proponent of individuality to the end, one of his last statements on record, taped during a video interview before the 2008 Art Car Parade, summed up his work and hopefully his legacy. "Keep America's roads weird," he said. We'll sure try, Tom.
Thanks to all for making Our Dear Tom - Best Local Artist. Tom woulsd insist, however that Ann Harithas be given credit for her creation Swamp Mutha. Ann and her husband Jim are the founders of the Art Car Museum and Tom proudly drove Ann's car in this years parade for the Museum. While Tom created and inspired many award winning Art Car Parade entries over the years, Swamp Mutha is Ann's. Thanks again to the Houston Press for this posthumous honor for my brother Tom
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