Congratulations to The Cars for the induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

On a rainy fall day in 1984, Peter Phillips met drummer David Robinson of The Cars over cocktails in a London bar. Robinson is credited for naming the band and concepting its album covers, which have also featured risqué artwork from pin-up artist Alberto Vargas (Candy-O, 1979). Robinson used Phillip’s painting Art-O-Matic Loop Di Loop for the cover of the band’s fifth album, Heartbeat City.

Art-O-Matic Loop Di Loop is one of Phillips’ most recognized works; it showcases a 1971 Plymouth Duster and sexy pin-up interspersed with colorful geometric shapes. The style is characteristic of Phillips’ early-70s work, including Seleco-Mat Techototempest, Selecto-Mat Rear Axle and Art-O-Matic Cuda Cutie.

Cars and girls iconized the liberated youth culture of the 70s and 80s – sexy, fast and free. The marriage of Pop Art and Pop Music with the Heartbeat City album demonstrates the permeation of progressive sexual attitudes into mainstream music and aesthetics.

A century after the American Civil War, Peter Phillips created War/Game using oil and polished wood on canvas. The painting depicts opposing confederate and union forces through typical emblems of combat – flags, guns and uniforms. Four decades later, the moody piece struck a chord with New York rock band The Strokes, who licensed the piece for their 2003 LP, Room on Fire.

The Strokes pioneered the American garage rock revival, drawing inspiration from 1960s British punk like The Rolling Stones and The Kinks. Room on Fire was a platinum follow-up to The Strokes’ 2001 EP, The Modern Age, which was released shortly after the infamous September 11 World Trade Center attacks.

The album speaks to battles in love, psyche and politics, with lyrics like “Don’t sing along with me. I said I was fine, it’s just the second time we lost the war…” (Between Love & Hate). Akin to The Strokes’ gritty punk melodies, Phillips’ painting offers a dark expression of contrarian forces. Peace and war, love and hate, truth and lies – the diametric expressions that characterize humanity.

Perhaps because these themes are so universal to the human plight, Phillips’ War/Game has transcended the boundaries of time. From The Freedom War to the War on Terror, the Beat generation to Millennials, and a British pop artist to an American rock band, Phillips’ War/Game is a durable fabric of our culture, interweaving some of the most pivotal events of our time.