Blank also has another art car, named "Oh My God," which sports, among other things, a TV on its roof.

"It was something I did because I didn't feel like my white VW bug represented anything about me," Blank said of the car, which he has been tinkering with for 12 years.

Across the street from Blank's van yesterday were a Citroen car and a Volkswagen, decorated with sunflowers and mermaids and owned by Maine resident Bill Stevenson, decorated with sunflowers and mermaids.

Stevenson met Blank earlier this year in Houston, Texas at an annual car art show.

"I have to confess that I had some doubts about whether other art car owners might be a little far out in left field," Stevenson said, "but once I met them I found out they were normal people."

Blank does not limit himself to art cars. He has made two films. His first was a risque college project at the University of California at Santa Cruz. It was called "In the Land of the Owl Turds: In Search of True Love" and featured him in a bathtub, his naked body painted green.

His other and less racy film, "Wild Wheels," about art cars, was shown last night at the Carpenter Center.

Although the van is not a political statement, a cabbie passing by on Quincy St. seemed to think otherwise.

As his taxi sped by, he stuck his head out the window and yelled, "What is this, the Bill Clinton re-election campaign?