BMW introduced art car number 19 at Miami Art Basel on Wednesday night, an M6 GT3 by legendary Los Angeles-based artist John Baldessari. The BMW art cars are priceless works of automotive art. Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder, and Jeff Koons have made cars for the collection.
It’s an apt time for the sly, reflective work of Baldessari, who has long explored the object as an idea. His most iconic works are tinged with dry humor. In one image, he shows the face of a hippopotamus submerged in water and the text, “Tom’s hands grip the steering wheel as he approaches a green light.” His most famous work might be an assignment he gave his art students in 1971 to write “I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art” on the walls. Baldessari, a conceptual artist by nature, brings this approach to the art car, which includes his familiar use of dots and primary colors. At age 85, Baldessari, who is tall and lean and wears good sneakers, is the essence of cool. His use of text on the side body of the car says it all: fast.
Have you ever customized a car before?
It’s my first time.
Have you had a car you worked on that wasn’t a work of art?
I’ve driven BMWs all my life. In Southern California the weather’s very good. Kids modify their cars and put racing stripes on them. They have the auto museum where you can see things like the Batmobile.
What makes a custom car look good?
Oh boy, that’s all about how you define cool. That’s like what’s good jazz or bad jazz — you know when you hear it.