Maurizio Cattelan neither creates a BMW Art Car nor “art”

Arles/Munich. On the occasion of the opening of this year’s Rencontres d’Arles Festival of Photography (July 4 – September 25) its long-term partner BMW and Toilet Paper, a bi-annual avantgarde picture-based publication and brand created by artist Maurizio Cattelan together with photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari, announce the joint creation of a BMW i3 “Spaghetti Car.”

Lest there be any confusion, it must be officially clarified that what Maurizio Cattelan created is not an official BMW Art Car. The artist’s design will be destroyed according to Cattelan’s wishes sometime after Rencontres d’Arles. As for the next BMW Art Cars following up on the one Jeff Koons created in 2010, a BMW M6 GT3 is currently being turned into a “rolling sculpture” by both by US West Coast legend John Baldessari as well as young Beijing-based multimedia artist Cao Fei – with upcoming racing events and world premieres in late 2016/2017.

Maurizio Cattelan has still officially retired from “art” since his 2011 retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, although he only recently created a toilet bowl made of solid gold for the Upper East Side institution. All of which did not stop his auction results to climb to over 15 million dollars earlier this year, creating doubt of how long precisely he can keep up with mounting pressure from many sides not to create “art.”

True to his own words in regard to the “Spaghetti Car,” here’s what Maurizio Cattelan had to say about neither creating “art" nor creating a BMW Art Car:

“*****”

“This is by far the best Spaghetti Car I have tasted! All those years of perfecting definitely paid off! Totally awesome!”

“I have been disappointed in my efforts to make a good spaghetti sauce since I started cooking 37 years ago.”

Serge Naudin, President of BMW France, was also delighted to collaborate: “The long-term cultural commitment of BMW France evolves around photography. It comes natural to count us among the admirers of Maurizio Cattelan. As for creating “art,” we love what he does and we love it just as much when he does not do anything.”

The “Spaghetti Car” is part of Toilet Paper’s “Hors Cadre / Out of context.” The exhibition will invade public space in Arles during the time of the festival. The BMW i3 becomes a mobile piece of this outdoor media installation including XXL wall murals and deck chairs. The BMW i3 was launched in 2014 as part of BMW i, the BMW brand standing for visionary vehicle concepts and technologies, connected mobility services as well as a new understanding of premium defined by sustainability.

BMW was thrilled to entrust a BMW i3 to Maurizio Cattelan, as the car manufacturer and the artist had already teamed up for the Berlin Biennial in 2006, which he co-curated. Since 2010 BMW France has been a partner of Les Rencontres d’Arles. This year, the most recent recipient of the Résidence BMW scholarship, a cooperation with the Musée Nicéphore Niépce will be announced. An exhibition of the 2015 laureate, Alinka Echeverría, will take place at the Commanderie Sainte Luce in Arles as well as during Paris Photo at the Grand Palais, Paris, in November 2016.

The 18th and 19th BMW Art Cars by Cao Fei and John Baldessari

In June 2016 the BMW Group presented the first visuals for the next BMW Art Cars on the occasion of Art Basel. Chinese artist Cao Fei (*1978) and American legend John Baldessari (*1931) gave insight into the design process and revealed their design ideas about their concepts for the 18th and 19th BMW Art Car. Base model for both artists is a BMW M6 GT3. With their commitment, Cao Fei and John Baldessari will be joining the ranks of outstanding artists such as Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney and Jeff Koons.

 About BMW Group’s Cultural Commitment

For almost 50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in over 100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus of its long-term commitment on contemporary and modern art, classical music and jazz as well as architecture and design. In 1972, three large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richter specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group's Munich headquarters. Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Daniel Barenboim, Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have co-operated with BMW. Currently, female artist Cao Fei from China and American John Baldessari are creating the next two vehicles for the BMW Art Car Collection. Besides co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate Live, the BMW Art Journey and the “Opera for All” concerts in Berlin, Munich and London, the company also partners with leading museums and art fairs as well as orchestras and opera houses around the world. The BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all its cultural activities – as this initiative is as essential for producing groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a successful business.

The BMW Group

With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries. 

In 2015, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.247 million cars and nearly 137,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2015 was approximately € 9.22 billion on revenues amounting to € 92.18 billion. As of 31 December 2015, the BMW Group had a workforce of 122,244 employees. 

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. 

BMW Group websites:

www.bmwgroup.com

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