Hasta La Ideas

Jeff Koons, his BMW art car design concept, and a BMW M3 GT2 are all radiant at Monday’s press conference in New York. (Photo: Jim Sulley)

How is Jeff Koons coming with his BMW Art Car? The project is on track—literally. The car, a BMW M3 GT2 customized with a Koonsian explosion of color, will race at Le Mans this June, BMW announced Monday at a press conference in New York City. The Koonsmobile will follow in the tradition of previous BMW Art Cars that have competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, including those designed by Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol. En route to Le Mans, Koons’ car will make a pit stop at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, where the artist will unveil and sign the car on June 1.

In revealing his concepts for the car, Koons stressed that the image shown (above) was preliminary. “I’m going to be bringing this on a higher level,” he said. “I’ve been working in 2-D and 3-D and on computers articulating everything.” His starting point was energy. “I wanted to look at the type of energies that are involved in cars and kind of the type of subliminal design work that’s been done to them as far as graphics,” he said, noting that he looked at a variety of race cars and studied zooming jets, explosions, and the bending of light. “I ended up getting really inspired by Christmas tree lights,” said Koons. “And that was really one of the bases I used for the design.” A digital collage of inspirational images led to the exterior graphic, which evokes a confluence of lasers or stylized tubular balloons on a black background that will contrast with the car’s silver interior. But it wasn’t all colorful zips and twinkling lights. “I wanted an aesthetic of winning. To me, it’s really important that the team wins,” said Koons. “Winning is the most important aesthetic.” Which we think would make a dynamite title for his next exhibition.

Previously on UnBeige: