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The 16th BMW Art Car by Olafur Eliasson: H2R |
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The artist.
 Thanks to his affinity to the field of renewable energies in particular, Olafur
Eliasson is an artist capable of meeting the challenges posed by the record-holding
vehicle in a creative way. Born in 1967, the Icelander now lives and works in
Berlin. Olafur Eliasson’s predominantly sculptural, installative and photographic
work is consistently devoted to the complex of topics pertaining to civilization/technology
and nature. He reflects the environmental influences of industrial culture in
relation to natural phenomena and the sensual experiences of the human being.
When creating his works of art, Eliasson combines complex technology with the
ephemeral elements of nature, thereby provoking a conflict between the viewer
and the environment. As a result of large-scale exhibitions of his work held
at museums such as the ZKM in Karlsruhe, the Musée d‘Art Moderne
de la Ville de Paris and the Tate Modern in London, as well as his participation
in the 50th Biennale di Venezia 2003, he has become internationally highly esteemed
in the art world. During 2004, his works were exhibited at the Wolfsburg Art
Museum and the Menil Collection in Houston.
His works are to be found in world-famous public and private collections such
as the Guggenheim Museum in New York und the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los
Angeles.
As an artist involved in the design of the 16th BMW Art Car, Eliasson will be
closely collaborating not only with a number of different departments within
the company assigned to the field of research, development and design, but also
with the Cultural Communications Department. Eliasson himself describes this
unique form of collaboration as follows:
“A laboratorial process to research the spectrum of sustainable energy
and energy awareness, with a particular interest in hydrogen as a potential
future energy-source. This is within the context of my current work that engages
with the whole complex of the individual's relation towards mobility, time and
space”.
After the transportation of the BMW H2R to Eliasson’s studio in August
of this year, the artist will be occupied until March 2006 with the design of
the new Art Car. The new BMW H2R Art Car will then be presented to the public
as a work of art at museums throughout the world.
The BMW Art Car Collection.
Outstanding male and female artists from all four corners of the world began to
work on BMW automobiles of their time as early as 1975. The 15 exhibits that make
up the BMW Art Car Collection include works by Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein,
Andy Warhol, A.R. Penck, David Hockney and Jenny Holzer. The Art Cars reflect
the cultural-historical development of art, design and technology and have been
exhibited at museums across the entire world, including the Louvre in Paris, the
Royal Academy in London, the Whitney Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Palazzo
Grassi in Venice, the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney and at the Guggenheim museums
in New York and Bilbao. BMW Art Cars will also continue to document the fascinating
symbiosis of art and technology at future international exhibitions. The entire
BMW Art Car Collection will be shown at various museums worldwide within the framework
of the 2005/2006 “Auto-nom” exhibition.
The initial idea for the collection, which was to have an automobile redesigned
by an artist, was introduced by Hervé Poulain, an auctioneer and ardent
racing driver from France. It was upon his initiative that his American friend,
an artist by the name of Alexander Calder, transformed his BMW racing Car –
a BMW 3.0 CSL - at the end of the seventies. The first vehicle to establish
a symbiosis between the world of art and the world of motor sport later participated
in the 24-hour race at Le Mans. Prompted by enormous enthusiasm for this work
of art on wheels, BMW then decided to put its brilliant idea of establishing
the Art Car Collection into practice. In the initial years only racing cars
that had taken part in the renowned 24-hour race at Le Mans were worked on.
Later, production cars were added to the spectrum. The final work of the series
to date was completed by the American concept artist Jenny Holzer, who covered
the surface of a BMW V12 Le Mans racing car with her word art known as “truisms”.
The BMW H2R hydrogen-powered record holder.
With the hydrogen-powered BMW H2R as their latest Art Car, the BMW Group is
continuing in the true tradition of the BMW Art Car Collection. The BMW H2R
research vehicle has established nine records for hydrogen-powered vehicles
featuring a combustion engine. On the high-speed track at Miramas (France) the
company proved that hydrogen can replace conventional fuels, without the driver
having to forego the driving dynamics offered by modern cars.
The technical specifications of the H2R are verification of this. The twelve-cylinder,
six-litre engine delivers more than 210 kW/285 bhp. With such power available,
the prototype accelerates from 0-62 mph in around six seconds, achieving a top
speed of over 300 km/h (186 mph). The hydrogen combustion engine is based on
the petrol-driven power unit featured in the BMW 760i, consequently it is equipped
with state-of-the-art technologies such as Valvetronic fully variable valve
control.
BMW Group Cultural Communications.
When the BMW Group becomes culturally involved, it is committed to absolute
freedom of creative potential, this being equally as essential for the creation
of ground-breaking works of art as it is for the most significant innovations
vital to a successful business enterprise. With this principle in mind, the
BMW Group regards the development and realization of cultural projects in collaboration
with private and public institutions as a future-oriented way of supporting
networks within the cultural scene. This in turn facilitates the provision of
platforms for new tendencies within the field of art and access by a broad public
to artistic and cultural events, with BMW Cultural Communications focusing on
the promotion of convincing and thematically stimulating projects.
Culture speaks many languages. In each country it is both unique and distinctive
– two qualities of the BMW Group. Through its obligation to art and culture,
it aims to support those activities that promote an intercultural dialogue, and
is currently involved in more than 100 various cultural events, programmes and
organizations worldwide.
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