distilledsilver
New member
Art and BMWs are two great passions of mine. I have always been interested in the BMW art car project as a result. The art car project is something whereby periodically an international board appoints an artist to paint or decorate a car. You cannot submit a car for nomination.
Over the years some highly regarded and influential artists have created cars such as Andy Warhol. While others have been created as an expression of cultures by artists from those cultures, such as the indigenous Australian, Ndebele and Nihonga (Japanese style painting).
It is fascinating to consider how widespread the appeal and desirability of BMW is across the globe, their design translating well to be appreciated by many different cultures who appreciate different aspects of aesthetics.
The project is the only one of its kind in the car world. Unfortunately you cannot go to a single museum to view all the cars, they are placed at various museums, and only occasionally are several placed together for special exhibits.
To date there have been 17 art cars created since 1975. For the more philosophical, the debate over whether something created within the restrictions of functionality can truly be considered art is a contentious one. It falls under the philosophical category of aesthetics. The same debate might apply to your funky coffee machine or your iPhone.
Although you could at some level just regard the car is a different sort of a canvas. Several art cars, based on racing cars have been created and then raced before retiring to museums. The majority are stock standard cars created only for the purposes of being exhibited.
Over the course of this thread I plan to make a post about each car, giving a little info on the artist and their other works, the car itself and of course pics!! I hope some of you find it interesting. Love or hate them, if a particular art car manages to elicit an emotive reaction from you, surely it has done its job as an artwork!
I’ve yet to find a book or a website that has consolidated all the information I plan to into a single place, namely this thread! So hopefully my fellow BMW fans with perhaps a touch of Bohemian in them will enjoy this.
In no particular order, lets get started with the latest art car, created in 2010 by Jeff Koons. Koons is best known for his sculptures that often look like the sort of thing the magician at Spur creates out of balloons. They are produced out of stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces.
He’s actually quite a controversial artist; some critics dismiss his work as kitsch junk, criticizing his methodology of having a factory-like studio with many employees, the process resembling more of a production line than an art studio. But this does allow for the creation of such large pieces. Jeff himself admits his works have no hidden meaning and aren’t supposed to be subject to interpretation.
But the highest known amount ever paid for his work was US$33,682,500 for the piece ‘Tulips’, so clearly some like his work a lot!
Some of his other works
Yes that is a real stainless steel lobster placed over that photo!
He has also worked with other mediums such as this puppy which comes into bloom every spring.
Ok let’s get to the car! In 2010 a BMW M3 GT2, which was homologated to compete at Le Mans participated in the 24 hour endurance rate. It Followed in the footsteps of the first art car, a 1975 BMW 3.0 CSL which also participated at Le Mans. Several other art cars also subsequently competed at Le Mans after the CSL, but unfortunately this time, like the CSL, it didn’t manage to complete the race.. It did however receive standing ovations at the Goodwood festival of speed.
Koons was very intrigued by the power underneath the bonnet of the car. He felt this must be translated into the look of the car. In preparation he also hits the race track to truly experience what that power is all about! He designed the car with graphics, flashes of light and comical elements to communicate the power of the car and turned the “wow” feeling of being in the car into something that can be seen.
It is numbered 79 to pay homage to Warhol's original 1979 M1.
A quote from koons- "These race cars are like life, they are powerful and there is a lot of energy," You can participate with it, add to it and let yourself transcend with its energy. There is a lot of power under that hood and I want to let my ideas transcend with the car – it's really to connect with that power."
Over the years some highly regarded and influential artists have created cars such as Andy Warhol. While others have been created as an expression of cultures by artists from those cultures, such as the indigenous Australian, Ndebele and Nihonga (Japanese style painting).
It is fascinating to consider how widespread the appeal and desirability of BMW is across the globe, their design translating well to be appreciated by many different cultures who appreciate different aspects of aesthetics.
The project is the only one of its kind in the car world. Unfortunately you cannot go to a single museum to view all the cars, they are placed at various museums, and only occasionally are several placed together for special exhibits.
To date there have been 17 art cars created since 1975. For the more philosophical, the debate over whether something created within the restrictions of functionality can truly be considered art is a contentious one. It falls under the philosophical category of aesthetics. The same debate might apply to your funky coffee machine or your iPhone.
Although you could at some level just regard the car is a different sort of a canvas. Several art cars, based on racing cars have been created and then raced before retiring to museums. The majority are stock standard cars created only for the purposes of being exhibited.
Over the course of this thread I plan to make a post about each car, giving a little info on the artist and their other works, the car itself and of course pics!! I hope some of you find it interesting. Love or hate them, if a particular art car manages to elicit an emotive reaction from you, surely it has done its job as an artwork!
I’ve yet to find a book or a website that has consolidated all the information I plan to into a single place, namely this thread! So hopefully my fellow BMW fans with perhaps a touch of Bohemian in them will enjoy this.
In no particular order, lets get started with the latest art car, created in 2010 by Jeff Koons. Koons is best known for his sculptures that often look like the sort of thing the magician at Spur creates out of balloons. They are produced out of stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces.
He’s actually quite a controversial artist; some critics dismiss his work as kitsch junk, criticizing his methodology of having a factory-like studio with many employees, the process resembling more of a production line than an art studio. But this does allow for the creation of such large pieces. Jeff himself admits his works have no hidden meaning and aren’t supposed to be subject to interpretation.
But the highest known amount ever paid for his work was US$33,682,500 for the piece ‘Tulips’, so clearly some like his work a lot!
Some of his other works
Yes that is a real stainless steel lobster placed over that photo!
He has also worked with other mediums such as this puppy which comes into bloom every spring.
Ok let’s get to the car! In 2010 a BMW M3 GT2, which was homologated to compete at Le Mans participated in the 24 hour endurance rate. It Followed in the footsteps of the first art car, a 1975 BMW 3.0 CSL which also participated at Le Mans. Several other art cars also subsequently competed at Le Mans after the CSL, but unfortunately this time, like the CSL, it didn’t manage to complete the race.. It did however receive standing ovations at the Goodwood festival of speed.
Koons was very intrigued by the power underneath the bonnet of the car. He felt this must be translated into the look of the car. In preparation he also hits the race track to truly experience what that power is all about! He designed the car with graphics, flashes of light and comical elements to communicate the power of the car and turned the “wow” feeling of being in the car into something that can be seen.
It is numbered 79 to pay homage to Warhol's original 1979 M1.
A quote from koons- "These race cars are like life, they are powerful and there is a lot of energy," You can participate with it, add to it and let yourself transcend with its energy. There is a lot of power under that hood and I want to let my ideas transcend with the car – it's really to connect with that power."
