Jeff Koons' BMW Art Car Premieres
in Paris
Jay Williams - 03/June/2010
Paris, France - American
artist Jeff Koons' and BMW have teamed up to produce the 17th BMW Art
Car that will race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France on June
12-13, 2010.
The world premiere of the 17th BMW
Art Car was held in front of 300 international guest at the Centre
Pompidou in Paris, where Mr.Koons unveiled and signed his car in front
of the guests.
The Centre Pompidou is
well know for being one of the most prestigious cultural
institutions for modern and contemporary art. It is also the same place
where Roy Lichtenstein first presented and signed his car almost 33
years ago.
Other artists that have created
cars for BMW are Calder, Stella and most notably Andy Warhol.
The project is based on BMWs M3
GT2, Koons has taken the car and produced a mesh of vibrant colours,
speed and explosions.
Koons says the car is evocative of
“power, motion and bursting energy”, the Art Car certainly imparts a
dynamic appearance even when it’s standing still.
Koons went on to say “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”.
Koons has been in collaboration
with BMW’s team in Munich for months – combining his artistic skills
with BMWs engineering – to ensure that the 17th BMW Art Car will be
race-ready for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The car itself is derived from the
BMW M3 high-performance sports car, the BMW M3 GT2 features a 4.0-litre
V8 engine with a maximum output of 373kW, an upgraded chassis,
racing-calibre brakes, and extensive use of lightweight materials.
The home of all BMW Art Cars is
the BMW Museum in Munich. Starting in September, Koons’ 17th BMW Art
Car will be presented there together with some of its predecessors.
Related Links:
- BMW
X6 M by AC Schnitzer (2010)
- BMW
M3 GTS (2010)
- BMW
M3: Darth Maul (2009)
- BMW
M3 Coupe (2008)
- Vorsteiner
GTRS3 BMW M3 (2010)
- Mini
Cooper S: The Beatles' Tribute (2009)
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