Art on 4 wheels - when automobiles become art cars

The speeches of art on four bikes are when creative people give conventional automotive a unique personality and make them true unique items on the streets. Art Cars is called such moving works of art.

Fortunately, in Germany there are a number of art projects and initiatives that artist and designer let go of the varnishes in order to get stuck without creative borders on the "Automobile" screen.

Especially in large cities such as Hamburg you will find impressive examples of this form of car art . HafenCity becomes a hotspot for artistically designed vehicles every year. A special event in the art canteen regularly brings together car lovers and art enthusiasts to appreciate the technical and creative aspects of these unique works.

From old classic cars to modern BMWs - every car can become a canvas for extraordinary designs that transform the streets into real galleries on wheels. There is a connection between technology and aesthetics, classics of automotive design and contemporary art.

Nissi's art on wheels in the art canteen Hamburg

The classic car-meet-enthusiastic event "Nissi's art on wheels" in the fourth edition in Hamburg took place last autumn and was a complete success.

With a touch of Nissis cookies in the air, this artistic event invited to the world of mobile works of art for the fourth time.

The car exhibition presented well -known brands such as Alfa Romeo, Porsche , Ferrari, Bentley, Lamborghini and Cadillac. A special highlight was the classic car exit along the Elbe, accompanied by a convertible with a trumpeter.

In Nissi's art canteen, visitors were able to admire works by artists with handicap . Markus Blazaizak, a deaf artist, and Wolfgang Jung, a blind artist, took the opportunity to present her oeuvre to an interested art audience.

At the Überseboulevard, works of art by established and aspiring artists were exhibited. The calligraphy artist Jeannine, designed live on the Nissi's suit, creative.

The highlight of the event was undoubtedly the creation of a “Art Car” in the prototype museum. The guests were invited to a walk together, in which the well-known pop art artist Larissa Kerner and Markus Blazaizak Live designed a prototype car.

This work of art was exhibited in the museum until the end of the year and then auctioned for charitable purposes. been cultivated by pop art greats like Andy Warhol

Mannheimer Art Cruiser - Used car becomes a mobile work of art

Our second station leads us 600 km south to the Hessische Mannheim. There we find the art cruiser of the artist Sonja Kadar , a car that encourages passers -by, spontaneously creative and can be painted with chalk.

Everyone is invited to paint on it and to turn mobile crowd artwork Sonja Kadar came up with the idea of ​​converting her used car into a rolling canvas when she bought it.

She applied the tableclack on both sides by hand, stuck the chalk pocket to the trunk and gave the GO to get started. So the Art Cruiser was born.

The next morning the Art Cruiser already completely decorated with new pictures and news. The campaign is very popular ( SWR reported ) and shows how a unique art project can arise from a simple used car.

Sonja Kadar now provides her art cruiser for various occasions such as children's birthdays or district festivals. It only demands a donation for its non-profit company “Art-Exil” or a tank voucher as a payment.

Incidentally, the works of art on the Art Cruiser are only temporary because they disappear from rain or washing systems. However, Sonja photographs all the pictures and divides them on Instagram so that everyone can find their works again. Despite the transience of her works of art, Sonja is very popular and many people book their kind of cruiser .

The 1987 Seat Ibiza Edition "César Manrique" and the BMW 730i Art Car

For the third pit stop we travel back into the past for a few decades.

This Seat Ibiza , designed by the renowned Spanish artist César Manrique for the International Auto Show in 1987 in Barcelona, ​​is a truly unique work of art on wheels. The painting of the vehicle was so striking and impressive that some specimens were even distributed to celebrities.

The abstract artist César Manrique was born in Arrecife on the island of Lanzarote in 1919. Even before studying at the University of the Fine Arts in Madrid, his abstract works of art were publicly presented. Despite his success in New York and his acquaintances with art greats such as Frank Stella and Roy Lichtenstein, he returned to Lanzarote in 1968 and began enriching the barren landscape with his works of art.

He created buildings, objects and constructions of exceptional beauty from the lava fields. Manrique had an enormous influence as a painter, sculptor, architect and landscape designer on the volcanic island and did the seemingly impossible.

art car depicted above belonged to the talented artist himself and was proudly presented at the fair. For everyone who is more interested in automobiles: Extensive information about the Seat Ibiza is available at Hackerott.de.

Today you can still admire the artistically designed vehicle at the house of César Manrique on Lanzarote . The interior of the car is just as appealing as the outer design and, even after decades, gives it a touch of playfulness and elegance. In addition, there is now a certain retro charm that could also address non-Seat enthusiasts.

After the Seat, Manrique received an order from the German car manufacturer BMW to create a new way of car.

A portrait of Allary-Film accompanied the artist to the BMW Art-Car at various exhibitions around the world (Louvre, Prado, UA) during the development process. Shortly afterwards, César Manrique was fatal after September 25, 1992.

What remains is a timeless piece of automotive history that makes his creator's creative spirit live on.

Speaking of BMW Art Cars - a trip back to 1975

Roy Lichtenstein , Jenny Holzer, Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney, Andy Warhol, John Baldessari and Jeff Koons could be won in 1975 for the "Art Cars" series of BMW

The BMW Art Cars are a fascinating example of how art and technology can combine in an impressive way. The idea for this series came from the dream of the French auctioneer, art collector and hobby racing driver Hervé Poulain .

He absolutely wanted to take part in the legendary 24-hour race of Le Mans , but not with an ordinary racing car, but with a vehicle designed by a renowned artist. This bold dream became a reality and so Poulain actually started in Le Mans with a BMW 3.0 CSL, which was painted Alexander Calder

The result was a breathtaking super sports car full of artistic expressiveness and colors.

The Art Car of Andy Warhol is another examples within the "BMW Art Cars" that beat a bridge between art and technology. The symbiosis of serial and individual is clear in the BMW Art Car from 1979, designed by Andy Warhol.

He emphasized the representation of speed on a BMW M1 by decorating the surface in no time (even before the film crew arrived to film). Warhol explained that he tried to show speed visually and blur all lines and colors at high speed.

Since then, 18 other BMW Art Cars have been created. Each of these vehicles tells its own story through the lines, shapes, colors and individual handwriting of the respective artist - be it Roy Lichtenstein or Jeff Koons. Overall, the BMW Art Cars impressively show how diverse the connection between art and automobile can be.

A comprehensive illustrated book not only reveals the stories of the previous 19 works of art, but also offers interesting background information on the combination of art and technology (see "Sculptures on four wheels - Chapter" Bookshelf ": BMW Art Cars" ).

Thomas Girst -editor of the illustrated book (published in 2018 in Hatje Cantz Verlag) and head of the international cultural engagement of the BMW Group-views Olafur Eliasson "Your Mobile Expectations: BMW H2R Project" from 2007 as the most striking break in the Art Car series.

The Danish-Icelandic artist has redesigned a hydrogen prototype, the BMW H2R , in an innovative way. He replaced the outer shell with a complex and filigree skin from mirrors and metal shells, which covered the body -like cover and covered with several layers of ice.

Due to this design, the Kuntauto could only be presented in a cold room at about minus ten degrees Celsius. Eliasson emphasized that his project combines art, design as well as social and ecological aspects in order to change our thinking about cars and to reinterpret them in the context of time and space.

A book with the same title as the Art Car complements this project as an integral part of the total work of art.

Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and managing director of Kunstplaza . Publicist, editor and passionate blogger in the field of art, design and creativity since 2011. Successful conclusion in web design as part of a university degree (2008). Further development of creativity techniques through courses in free drawing, expression painting and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market through many years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with actors/institutions from art and culture.

www. kunstplaza .de/