Unique BMW ART CARS in prime location: BMW ARTVILLE in Knokke-Heist

Auto Motor Klassiek » Special » Unique BMW ART CARS in prime location: BMW ARTVILLE in Knokke-Heist
Purchasing classics there

The municipality of Knokke-Heist and BMW are starting this summer creating a new exclusive location on the beach, right in front of the casino: BMW ARTVILLE. This ambitious multi-year project offers a unique mix of art, technology and lifestyle. This first edition opens with JAN FABRE CURATED BY BOZAR, an art experience consisting of various creations by visual artist, theater artist and author Jan Fabre. In addition, visitors will be able to admire the exclusive BMW ART CARS from and Alexander Calder and Andy Warhol.

The true BMW enthusiast will travel to the Flemish coast at this special location for, among other things, the classic and artfully crafted models. Within BMW ARTVILLE, they can experience with their own eyes how two great artists “pimp” an 3.0 CSL and an M1 in the past.

BMW 3.0 CSL designed by Alexander Calder (1975)

The first time a BMW was converted into a work of art was in 1975. The American sculptor Alexander Calder applied intensive primary colors to the wings, hood and roof of the BMW 3.0 CSL. At the time, a car as a work of art was a sensation in itself. Even more sensationally, the car took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans that same year. The performance of the BMW absolutely allowed that. The six-cylinder in-line M30B33 engine (3.210 cc) in this CSL had four valves per cylinder and generated no less than 480 hp. He gave the 3.0 CSL a top speed of 290 kilometers per hour. The world's first BMW Art Car, on display in BMW ARTVILLE, was one of Alexander Calder's last works.

Innovative artist: Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder, born in 1898 in Philadelphia, started his career as an engineer. He then followed as a sculptor in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Because he was attracted to both art and technology, he developed his own, completely unique form of sculpture. His constructions were huge but still light and floating in appearance. He became famous for his abstract mobiles. Those were considered by critics to be the most innovative American sculptures of the 20 century. Calder died in 1976 at the 78 age in New York.

BMW M1 GROUP 4 designed by Andy Warhol (1979)

In 1979 it is the American Pop Art artist Andy Warhol who - in half an hour - comes to personally paint a BMW M1 model at the headquarters of the German car manufacturer in Munich. He then stated, “I have tried to convey a sense of speed. When a car is moving really fast, all lines and colors become blurred. ” Speaking of fast: The car reached enormous speeds (top: 307 kilometers per hour) during the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1979. The BMW, equipped with a 3.500 cc engine with four valves per cylinder and a power of 470 HP, achieved the second place in its class.

About Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol was born in 1928 in Pittsburgh (USA) and studied between 1945 and 1949 at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He had his first success at his own exhibition in New York in 1952. In 1956 his work was recognized with the coveted "Art Director's Club Award". In 1962 he founded the legendary 'Factory'. Warhol turned the art world upside down by questioning and turning over traditional artistic ideas. His colorful portraits of celebrities and paintings of trivial objects formed the basis of Pop Art.

Two from a series of nineteen

BMW ARTVILLE therefore shows two special classics. Nineteen BMWs have been turned into Art Car throughout history. The first BMW Art Car was unveiled in 1975, under the initiative of the French racing driver, art lover and auctioneer Hervé Poulain. The unique collection of BMW Art Cars today consists of 19 cars.

 

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