Jeff Koons to Design Latest BMW Art Car
Every few years BMW gets together with a big name artist to convince their customers that they too are sophisticated. That BMW is indeed a car manufacturer who comes homes after a long day at the office to smoke a pipe, sit by the fireplace and read the The Wall Street Journal.
It wasn’t always a PR stunt: the first car, a BMW 3.0 CSL, was commissioned to the artist Alexander Calder in 1975 before it was raced at Le Mans. Since then, artists from Warhol to Hockney have stepped up to make a canvas out of the latest beemer.
This year an artist known for huge sculptures of balloon animals is in charge. Jeff Koons will create the 35th anniversary art car. He first expressed interest in 2003 the manufacturer says, and “is known for his heartfelt appreciation of cars.”
“We are enormously pleased about Jeff Koons’ eagerly anticipated contribution to the BMW Art Car series, celebrating its 35th anniversary,” said Frank-Peter Arndt, member of the Board of Management for the BMW AG and responsible for BMW Group’s international cultural formats. “Art Cars are part of the DNA of BMW’s cultural engagement. As manifested in Koons’ latest sculptural work, what unites us is the belief that nothing is impossible. Our company and Jeff Koons are drawn to permanent innovation and cutting-edge technology.”
Jeff Koons, an American, once held the title for most expensive piece of work by a living artist ever auctioned. In 2007 a magenta Hanging Heart sold at Sotheby’s New York for a whopping $23.6 million. According to Wikipedia he’s quoted as saying, “There’s a difference between being famous and being significant. I’m interested in [my work's] significance — anything that can enrich our lives and make them vaster — but I’m really not interested in the idea of fame for fame’s sake.”
Last year an artist named Robin Rhode strapped colorful tires to a new Z4 and drove it around a huge canvas, creating “art” from tread marks. The artist didn’t even drive the car which we find incredibly lame.
The model and style will be announced later this year. Anyone else want to see a BMW reincarnated as a balloon animal?
Check out the gallery below to see some of Koons’ work and other BMW art cars.
BMW images courtesy of BMW Drives.com. Koons images courtesy of Wikipedia.
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