Autoblog

Art and automobiles share an uneasy crossroads. Automotive body design is certainly art, but the expression tends to be curtailed by the demands of commerce. Design a car that leans too far towards pure art, and the market will reject it. The symbiosis of needs has served the automotive industry well for the past century. On the fringes are the folks who perpetrate art for art's sake against the automobile. Most of these works are less accessible, though sometimes, there's a consociation that successfully melds higher concept art with the automobile. We're not talking about growing grass on your Riviera here.

British artist Benedict Radcliffe has created a full size rendering of a Toyota Corolla, making the world a more surreal place. The work is essentially a line drawing of the car rendered in three dimensions. Cool. Radcliffe's previous wireframe Impreza was more in line with the pure art mindset, as the Corolla was commissioned for use in a video production. The white painted sculpture lends the photographs a surreal retouched look, and we're kind of bummed we weren't able to turn up the actual commercial, as the couple of shots of the car on set look impressive with the reflective black floor. We can't help but wonder what they chromakeyed behind it, too.

[Source: Skirmisher.org]

We'll avoid the trite jokes about Jack Kirby's Mustang sculpture being a "nice car, bud." Ouch. There, it slipped out anyway. Now we can just move on. Rather than just stack up the red, white, and blue swill cans to the ceiling, as would most college students, the art and design scholar built a car instead. Kirby's chef d'oeuvre came to be when Budweiser rolled out its UK-only "Budbucks" promotion this summer – grand prize, a 1965 Mustang, Jack's favorite car. Whether or not he wins the contest, we bet it was one heck of a good time to consume the 5,000 beers that donated their containers. Then again, being a college student, he probably drank them all in one night, alone.

Thanks to tipster Marsh

[Source: CAR, Metro.co.uk]

Not many automakers have accomplished as much as Audi at LeMans. Though it only began competing at LeMans in 1999, the automaker has achieved six overall victories from its eight starts, including the first ever win for a diesel-powered car with its R10 last year. This Saturday before the start of the 75th running of the 24 Hours of LeMans, a 12-meter high sculpture will be unveiled in the circuit's "Village" to honor Audi's success in what many consider to be the most demanding race in the world.

Fourtitude has pics of the "Audi Tower" as it looks today, which appears encased inside a giant box shaped like, well, a 12-meter-tall tower. According to Audi, the actual sculpture features 24 rotating rings that light up between the tower's base and its top. There's also a video wall on the sculpture's front face, and its glass surface will be etched with the names of every driver to have ever won the 24 Hours of LeMans.

We're excited to see what this thing looks like, but have enough faith in Audi's aesthetic taste to expect a finely crafted work of art. You can check out a few more pics of the tower as it stands by clicking the Read link.

[Source: Fourtitude]

click above pic to view additional images of this one-of-a-kind "Shattered Glass" Maserati Quattroporte

They say that the beauty of art is in the eye of the beholder, and we're torn between thinking the work of Italian artist Luca Pancrazzi shown here is jaw-dropping cool or tear-shedding sad. C'mon, it's a Maserati Quattroporte covered with 1,763 lbs. of shattered glass – truly a sight one does not see every day. But it's also an exquisite Italian luxury sedan sacrificed at the alter of modern art. The piece currently sits outside the Moscow Museum of Modern Art and welcomes guests to the second Moscow Art Biennale that runs from March 1st through April 1st.

[Source: Domusweb via CarScoop]

As we previously reported, the automobile is one of the most recycled products in use today. While most vehicles have their parts transplanted into new vehicles or converted into fuel, some become works of art.

The "Galaxyman" is one such art piece. Made from a used Ford Galaxy MPV, the sculpture is one of German performance artist HA Schult's latest works. Schult first displayed his 1,000(!) similar sculptures in 1996, and has brought the exhibit around the world to such places as the Egyptian pyramids and the Great Wall of China. The exhibit is currently on display in front of the Cologne Cathedral in Germany, and will touch U.S. soil later this year while stopping in New York City.

[Sources: Ford Motor Company; World Car Fans]