From October 4, 2015 - May 1, 2016, the MAC Museum Art & Cars in Singen is showing the combination of automobiles and art in its purest form. On display on the first floor of the museum are 5 examples of the BMW Art Car Collection, which were artistically designed by world-famous artists Roy Lichtenstein, Jeff Koons and Andy Warhol, among others. These include the BMW 320i Turbo, the BMW M1 and M3, the BMW Z1 and the BMW M3 GT2. On the upper floor, the theme of movement is reflected in many facets in the works of the painter Herbert Vogt.
The joy of color
Since 1975, BMW has commissioned a total of 17 artists to design a new and, above all, colorful BMW Art Car, which are then distributed around the world as brand ambassadors. An exclusive selection of these vehicles will soon be on display in Singen. It will also become clear that the origins of the BMW Art Cars actually lie in motorsport. The vehicles designed by Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol became famous through their appearances in the Le Mans endurance race.
Speed was already taken into account when these vehicles were painted. The artist Andy Warhol reveals: "When a car is going really fast, all the colors disappear." But speed also played an important role in the design. It took him just 28 minutes to paint his BMW M1 in 1979 in a paint shop in the north of Munich. This was decidedly too fast for the specially hired camera team, as they had only just set everything up when Warhol was already finished.
Special masterpieces
Less fast but no less impressive is the BMW M3, which was transformed into a masterpiece of Aboriginal art by Australian artist Michael Jagamara Nelson in 1989. It took him two weeks to cover the car with stories about lightning and water, kangaroos and gophers using the traditional dot technique.
While the pictorial language on Nelson's BMW can only be deciphered by very few, A. R. Penck worked with a symbolic language reminiscent of prehistoric cave paintings. In black paint on the red BMW Z1, for example, stick figures appear as hunters.
Painted unrest
With the BMW Art Cars, the MAC Museum Art & Cars was able to bring in the perfect exhibits to show the successful combination of art and automobile. The paintings by Herbert Vogt add another dimension to the theme of "Moving Color". The artist has always endeavored to create moving structures and his paintings never seem to stand still. Vogt's typical brightly colored groups of figures with their rhythmic color changes are constantly in motion for the viewer.
The exhibition is open on Wednesday from 2 - 8 pm, on Thursday and Friday until 6 pm and on weekends and public holidays from 11 am - 6 pm. In addition, guided tours are available from Friday to Sunday at 3 pm and on Wednesdays at 7 pm. Guided tours are also possible at any time outside opening hours, but only on request.
Further information can be found on the MAC Museum Art & Cars website.
