La
BMW festeggia i suo quarant’anni di auto d’artista con una grande
mostra itinerante per il mondo dal titolo “Rolling sculptures”,
fra le tante tappe ci sarà anche una sul Lago di Como, oltre a
celebri spazi culturali come il Centre Pompidou a Parigi .
BMW
celebrates 40 years of BMW Art Cars “Rolling sculptures” take to
the stage around the world in 2015
Lichtenstein.
Warhol. Koons. Stella. Calder. Rauschenberg. Holzer. Elíasson. Since
a BMW 3.0 CSL painted by Alexander Calder lined up for the Le Mans
24-hour race exactly 40 years ago, the BMW Art Car Collection has
fascinated both art and design enthusiasts as well as car and
technology fans all around the world.
Ever
since the invention of the motor car, artists have drawn inspiration
from the thrill of speed, from the phenomenon of mobility and from
racing cars as examples of modern sculpture. Since 1975, BMW Art Cars
have been a central feature of this story. The idea behind the BMW
Art Cars was the brainchild of French racing driver and art
enthusiast Hervé Poulain: 40 years ago, Poulain asked artist friend
Alexander Calder to apply his creative talents to his race car.
Together with Jochen Neerpasch, then BMW Motorsport Director, the
first BMW Art Car was born – and it became an instant crowd’s
favourite on the race track. Since then, new additions to the BMW Art
Car Collection have been made over the years at irregular intervals,
with unique works of art from artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy
Lichtenstein, David Hockney and Jeff Koons.
“The
BMW Art Cars provide an exciting landmark at the interface where
cars, technology, design, art and motor sport meet,” reflects
Maximilian Schöberl, Senior Vice President, Corporate and
Governmental Affairs, BMW Group. “The 40-year history of our
‘rolling sculptures’ is as unique as the artists who created
them. The BMW Art Cars are an essential element and core
characteristic of our global cultural engagement.”
The
anniversary celebrations got under way with exhibitions in Hong Kong,
at the Centre Pompidou, the BMW Museum and the Concorso d’Eleganza
at Lake Como, where the first four BMW Art Cars by Alexander Calder,
Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, plus the M3 GT2
created by Jeff Koons, were all on display. Further presentations are
set to follow later in 2015 in New York, Miami and Shanghai.
The
group of seventeen artists who have designed BMW models so far since
1975 is very international, and interest in the “rolling
sculptures” has spread all around the world. Several cars are
usually on display at the BMW Museum in Munich, the home of the BMW
Art Cars, as part of its permanent collection. The remaining BMW Art
Cars are travelling the globe – to art fairs in Los Angeles, London
and Hong Kong, as well as exhibitions at the Louvre, the Guggenheim
and the Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai.
BMWGroup_Wortmarke
To
date, many of the BMW Art Cars have not only turned heads in museums,
but have also – in their earlier life – done so on the race
track: Alexander Calder (BMW 3.0 CSL, 1975), Frank Stella (BMW 3.0
CSL, 1976), Roy Lichtenstein (BMW 320 Group 5, 1977), Andy Warhol
(BMW M1 Group 4, 1979), Ernst Fuchs (BMW 635CSi, 1982), Robert
Rauschenberg (BMW 635CSi, 1986), Michael Jagamara Nelson (BMW M3
Group A, 1989), Ken Done (BMW M3 Group A, 1989), Matazo Kayama (BMW
535i, 1990), César Manrique (BMW 730i, 1990), A. R. Penck (BMW Z1,
1991), Esther Mahlangu (BMW 525i, 1991), Sandro Chia (BMW M3 GTR,
1992), David Hockney (BMW 850CSi, 1995), Jenny Holzer (BMW V12 LMR,
1999), Ólafur Elíasson (BMW H2R, 2007) and Jeff Koons (BMW M3 GT2,
2010).
The
BMW Group would also like to introduce the 40th anniversary of the
BMW Art Car Collection into the public sphere through social media.
While exploring the vision of each artist for their car on its social
media channels, the company also wants to ask people what the ‘art
of the car’ means to them. To track the content, it will be shared
under the hashtag #BMWArtCar.
In
2014, Hatje Cantz published the first comprehensive publication on
the BMW Art Cars. The 200-page book is richly illustrated and reviews
the history of this extraordinary collection of cars from its
beginnings in 1975. It uses portraits and interviews to shed more
light on the various artists’ themes and approaches.
BMW’s
Cultural Commitment
For
more than 40 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in
over 100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main
focus of its long-term commitment on modern and contemporary art,
jazz and classical music as well as architecture and design. In 1972,
three large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard
Richter specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group's Munich
headquarters. Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy
Lichtenstein, Olafur Eliasson, Jeff Koons, Zubin Metha, Daniel
Barenboim and Anna Netrebko have co-operated with BMW. The company
has also commissioned famous architects such as Karl Schwanzer, Zaha
Hadid and Coop Himmelb(l)au to design important corporate buildings
and plants. In 2011, the BMW Guggenheim Lab, a global initiative of
the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, the Guggenheim Museum and the
BMW Group celebrated its world premiere in New York. The BMW Group
takes absolute creative freedom in all the cultural activities it is
involved in for granted – as this is just as essential for
groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a
successful business.
The
BMW Group
With
its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the
world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles
and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a
global company, the BMW Group operates 30 production and assembly
facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more
than 140 countries.
In
2014, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.118 million cars and 123,000
motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year
2014 was approximately € 8.71 billion on revenues amounting to €
80.40 billion.
As
of 31 December 2014, the BMW Group had a workforce of 116,324
employees.
The
success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking
and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
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