Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Hood

BMW have a long tradition of commissioning artists to paint their cars. Alexander Calder kicked the series off in 1975 and Andy Warhol famously did one a few years later (why not take a minute and watch him at work). Many others followed including Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney, Australia’s Ken Done and most recently, Jeff Koons. You can see the 18 paint jobs that make up the BMW Art Car Collection here

Now New Zealand artists are having a go, this time restricted to the well-known BMW bonnet with its equally well-known marquee. You can download a list and images of the New Zealand efforts and how to bid on them here. Included is Rohan Wealleans who has transferred his strangely-shaped cut and paste surfaces onto the sleek lines of the European classic. The proceeds from the sale of the painted auto parts go to KidzFirst. Art+Object will be doing the business at the Puketutu Island Event, this coming Saturday.
Images: Top, Rohan Wealleans' BMW bonnet A thick cream. Bottom, Jenny Holzer for BMW.