When artists and cars meet, there sometimes is a clash. For example, the British establishment was unhappy with John Lennon’s psychedelic Phantom V when he had The Fool repaint it in psychedelic regalia, but car fans seem to appreciate the Bimmers painted by Calder, Warhol, and Lichtenstein. So how do you feel about this 2014 Corvette Stingray becoming a canvas-on-wheels?
In the below video, three General Motors automotive designers transformed a white C7 into “performance art car” in front of spectators during a gala fundraiser at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) on October 10. According to Tyler Mars, a surface product engineer in the Chevrolet Performance Car Exterior Studio:
We prepared by creating Photoshop renderings of what we thought the car might look like. Once the team narrowed it down to one exciting design, we started practicing on a full-size Stingray. Those early practice sessions revealed that our “layering” different brush strokes was the best way to achieve the look we wanted and blend our artistic styles. For example, my painting style is bold and powerful, so I worked on the base wash, using large, long strokes that would eventually make up the fading from yellow to purple composition. Casey (a Corvette designer) took care of the big, red, tree-branch-like elements, and Haneif (another Corvette designer) topped it all off with very Jackson Pollock-like paint bottle squirts.
Inspiration came from “fall landscapes in abstract painting” with some Andy Warhol, Peter Max, and Frank Stella for good measure. All told, nearly $400,000 was raised. “Never before has an ‘art car’ been done live and in such a theatrical way,” said GM Vice President of Global Design, Ed Welburn.
This now-multicolored Stingray will be displayed at MOCAD and eventually will make its way to one of GM’s corporate offices.
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