BMW->ke178 has quite the history of melding art with speed via their Art Cars projects. Since 1975, world renowned artists have taken their brushes to the sheet metal of Bavaria’s finest, all in the name of visual expression. To date there are a total of seventeen cars; each a unique look at an artist and an era.
One of the more iconic cars from the collection is the 850CSi painted by David Hockney. It was created nearly two decades ago in 1995, and now it’s finally returning home to Los Angeles.
As part of the Paris Photo second edition at the Paramount Pictures Studio in Los Angeles, BMW will be displaying David Hockney’s 8 Series->ke2106. Along with bringing the classic 8 Series home to LA, BMW is bringing the spiritual successor to the classic coupe; the all-new i8->ke4622.
From the past and into the future, BMW is representing the history, technology and art of the automotive world.
Click past the jump to read more about BMW's previous Art Cars.
The first Art Car was a BMW 3.0 CSL from 1975. The car was created by Alexander Calder, an American sculptor. It was one of his last completed works of art before his death. Two more Art Cars were created, one in 1976 and another in ’77, but the program got its biggest boost in 1979.
’79 was the year that pop art icon Andy Warhol put his brush to the M1. This marked the first time that the designing artist actually worked on the full-size car. To this day, the Warhol M1 is one of the most recognizable Art Cars from the series.
The last car to receive the Art Car treatment came in 2010 when Jeff Koons created a fantastic design for the BMW M3 GT2.
Not very many companies have ever offered forth their wares to others to change. Part of creating a car design is creating a shape that you think is perfect in some way. To me, the act of giving your idea of perfection to another person so that they may create their own perfection is the greatest expression of art.