New York–based artist Jeremy Dean has come up with a novel approach to performing some aftermarket modifications on a Hummer H2: he cut it in half.

It's all in the name of art with a message, and what better vehicle to choose than the Hummer, a brand that went from Arnold Schwarzenegger's personal chariot to something too toxic even for China.

We caught up with Dean for the Hummer Cart maiden voyage through NYC to ask, "So ... how and why?"

"I really believe that contemporary art is relevant and meaningful to society, so for myself, if you're going to do it, it should make a statement about the world in which we live," said Dean. "It references financial culture and the financial meltdown, [which is] where we're at. I just had to do it."

Dean put down $15,000 of his own money for the sacrificed H2 and dubbed the result "Back to the Futurama," a play on both the Depression-era practice of hooking up cars to horses once gas became too expensive (known as "Hoover carts," a dig at Herbert Hoover) and GM's Futurama exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair.

Teaming up with Slicks Garage in Palmetto, Fla., Dean and his crew took several weeks to complete the Frankenstein fabrication, which removed the engine, brought the seats and dashboard up to roof height, and installed four LCD screens in the cabin (all playing a mash-up video of Ludacris and World's Fair footage). "We definitely all had a moment when we were sitting there with this perfect Hummer -- as perfect as a Hummer could be-- that we were about to chop in half."

When it came time to unveil the project at New York's PULSE art fair, the Hummer got its last revenge in the form of a popped trailer tire and, ironically, a winter storm that prevented it from being brought to the city. In the end the cart made it though, the week GM announced the brand's demise no less, and we were there for the inaugural ride through Central Park.

Winding its way down the park's west side strapped to two horses, early morning joggers did double takes at the incongruous sight. But it was when the Hummer cart hit the snarl of Columbus Circle that people really took notice. Taxi drivers visibly protested as tourists and commuters raced over with cell phone cameras in hand. Even a few real horse carriage drivers paused to signal their approval.

After witnessing the reactions, we decided Dean had to make us one for the office. Said Dean, "Sure, why not!?"