January 07th, 2010

BMW: A True Work of Art

BMW has always been considered a work of art. But in 1975 the car (a 3.0 CSL) became the canvas for artist Alexander Calder. The artist’s friend Herve Poulain, who was a racecar driver and art dealer, asked Calder to paint his car that he actually drove in Le Mans that year (he also went on the drive the Warhol BMW in 1979).

Since that time BMW has commissioned numerous artists who have brought their own unique style to the car.

In 1991 Esther Mahlangu became the first female artist to paint a BMW. Far from the world of Warhol, Lichtenstein and Rauschenberg, who have all created BMW art cars, Mahlangu hails from the Ndebele tribe in South Africa. Watch her at work painting the 525i.

Jenny Holzer was the 15th artist to paint a BMW in 1999. Her canvas was the V12LMR racecar. She decorated the car with her signature slogans, including “Protect me from what I want” which appears across the chassis. Take a look at her masterpiece.

The cars have appeared on display at the Louvre and the Bilbao Guggenheim and in New York’s Grand Central Station.

Read more about Frank Stella BMW artist and car novice.

In 1976 artist Frank Stella painted a BMW 3.0 CSL which also raced in Le Mans that year. Although he knew his art he wasn’t so familiar with cars.  “I’d never owned a car before,” Stella told the New Yorker. His fee for the paint job—a 2 year lease on a new BMW.