nyt's olafur eliasson's art car

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12/8/09 1:21 PM ‘Objet d’Arctic,’ 2007, Artist Known - New York Times Page 1 of 3 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/automobiles/autospecial/24FREEZE.html?_r=1&ref=autospecial&oref=slogin Automobiles All NYT Automobiles WORLD U.S. N.Y. / REGION BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE HEALTH SPORTS OPINION ARTS STYLE TRAVEL JOBS REAL ESTATE AUTOS NEW CARS USED CARS COLLECTIBLE CARS SELL YOUR CAR ALL CLASSIFIEDS Enlarge This Image Heidi Schumann for The New York Times Olafur Eliasson. Enlarge This Image Heidi Schumann for The New York Times The artist Olafur Eliasson had a hydrogen-powered BMW racecar coated with ice for a show at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. ‘Objet d’Arctic,’ 2007, Artist Known By LAURA NOVAK Published: October 24, 2007 SAN FRANCISCO ON the second floor of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, there is an 800-square-foot walk-in freezer set at 14 degrees Fahrenheit. The sole entity inside is a BMW hydrogen-powered racecar stripped to its frame, draped in ice and glowing like a strange arctic insect. This frozen objet d’art, a reflection on the conflicts between global climate change and the automotive industry, is an unusual collaboration between an Icelandic artist, Olafur Eliasson, and BMW. A four-month exhibition, it coincides with the San Francisco auto show in November and is the only American stop for the work, called “Your Mobile Expectations: BMW H2R Project,” 2007. “If you imagine that we have an ice age running towards us at high speed apparently, this is what all our cars are going to be looking like, whether we want it or not within our lifetime,” said Mr. Eliasson, taking a break from checking on the freezing process a week before the show opened in September. Mr. Eliasson is the 16th artist invited to work with a BMW since 1975, following the likes of Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney and Andy Warhol . Most of the painted cars raced in the Le Mans 24-hour race in France. But this time, Mr. Eliasson was given a hydrogen-powered racecar to play with, one that can go 140 miles an hour and that emits water vapor rather than pollutants. The exhibition might be the most progressive advertisement BMW has for its corporate push toward sustainability and alternative fuels. By the year’s end, the company says it plans to place 100 of its plush Hydrogen 7 Series models with BMW enthusiasts, like the actor Will Ferrell , throughout the world, including 25 in the United States. Fueling is the greatest hurdle for hydrogen-powered cars, the company says. Only one such fueling station that can accommodate the H7 exists in the United States, in Oxnard, Go to Complete List » More Articles in Automobiles » Sign up to receive a weekly dose of news, trends and all things automotive. See Sample [email protected] Change E-mail Address | Privacy Policy Wheels E-Mail MOST POPULAR 1. Nicholas D. Kristof: Cancer From the Kitchen? 2. Millions in U.S. Drink Dirty Water, Records Show 3. Married (Happily) With Issues 4. Religion Journal: Yes, Miky, There Are Rabbis in Montana 5. As Hawaii’s Seas Roil, Surfers Await the Big One 6. Dark Side of a Natural Gas Boom 7. Mind: Postpartum Depression Strikes Fathers, Too 8. Vinyl Records and Turntables Are Gaining Sales 9. Well: Firm Body, No Workout Required? 10. Picking (Up) Winners Without Placing a Bet SIGN IN TO RECOMMEND E-MAIL SEND TO PHONE PRINT REPRINTS SHARE TWITTER BLOGGED SEARCHED E-MAILED HOME PAGE MY TIMES TODAY'S PAPER VIDEO MOST POPULAR TIMES TOPICS My Account Welcome, hootsiemama Log Out Help TimesPeople Lets You Share and Discover the Best of NYTimes.com Welcome to TimesPeople Get Started Recommend

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Page 1: NYT's Olafur Eliasson's Art Car

12/8/09 1:21 PM‘Objet d’Arctic,’ 2007, Artist Known - New York Times

Page 1 of 3http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/automobiles/autospecial/24FREEZE.html?_r=1&ref=autospecial&oref=slogin

Automobiles All NYTAutomobilesWORLD U.S. N.Y. / REGION BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE HEALTH SPORTS OPINION ARTS STYLE TRAVEL JOBS REAL ESTATE AUTOS

NEW CARS USED CARS COLLECTIBLE CARS SELL YOUR CAR ALL CLASSIFIEDS

Enlarge This Image

Heidi Schumann for The New York Times

Olafur Eliasson.

Enlarge This Image

Heidi Schumann for The New York Times

The artist Olafur Eliasson had ahydrogen-powered BMW racecarcoated with ice for a show at the SanFrancisco Museum of Modern Art.

‘Objet d’Arctic,’ 2007, Artist KnownBy LAURA NOVAKPublished: October 24, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO

ON the second floor of the SanFrancisco Museum of Modern Art,there is an 800-square-foot walk-infreezer set at 14 degrees Fahrenheit.The sole entity inside is a BMWhydrogen-powered racecar stripped toits frame, draped in ice and glowinglike a strange arctic insect.

This frozen objet d’art, a reflection onthe conflicts between global climatechange and the automotive industry, is an unusualcollaboration between an Icelandic artist, Olafur Eliasson,and BMW. A four-month exhibition, it coincides with theSan Francisco auto show in November and is the onlyAmerican stop for the work, called “Your MobileExpectations: BMW H2R Project,” 2007.

“If you imagine that we have an ice age running towardsus at high speed apparently, this is what all our cars aregoing to be looking like, whether we want it or not withinour lifetime,” said Mr. Eliasson, taking a break fromchecking on the freezing process a week before the showopened in September.

Mr. Eliasson is the 16th artist invited to work with a BMWsince 1975, following the likes of Roy Lichtenstein, DavidHockney and Andy Warhol. Most of the painted cars racedin the Le Mans 24-hour race in France. But this time, Mr.Eliasson was given a hydrogen-powered racecar to playwith, one that can go 140 miles an hour and that emitswater vapor rather than pollutants.

The exhibition might be the most progressive advertisement BMW has for its corporatepush toward sustainability and alternative fuels. By the year’s end, the company says itplans to place 100 of its plush Hydrogen 7 Series models with BMW enthusiasts, like theactor Will Ferrell, throughout the world, including 25 in the United States.

Fueling is the greatest hurdle for hydrogen-powered cars, the company says. Only onesuch fueling station that can accommodate the H7 exists in the United States, in Oxnard,Calif., while another is being retrofitted. BMW plans to put a mobile one in Washington,

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Page 2: NYT's Olafur Eliasson's Art Car

12/8/09 1:21 PM‘Objet d’Arctic,’ 2007, Artist Known - New York Times

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Calif., while another is being retrofitted. BMW plans to put a mobile one in Washington,D.C.

Mr. Eliasson shelved brushes and cans of acrylic paint in favor of stripping the car of itsbody panels and mechanical guts, leaving the frame, steering wheel and four tires intact.He fabricated two layers of translucent steel “skin” with reflective stainless-steel tiles setinside. He then coated the frame in ice, illuminating the car from the inside with lights.

“This is not being put forward as a prescription for anything, but rather as a kind ofchallenge,” said Henry Urbach, curator of architecture and design at the museum, whobrought the show to San Francisco.

The H2R, he added, “is a very forward-thinking car, and what Olafur has done is madean anti-car car.”

It took a day for 30 people to maneuver the artwork into place. Museum staff membersand artists from Mr. Eliasson’s Berlin studio rolled the skeleton into the custom-madefreezer before beginning the surreal task of soaking it in 260 gallons of water.

To do this, engineers ran 300 feet of hose connected to an outside spigot up two flightsof stairs. The water was cycled through two barrels filled with ice — the chilled watercreated more humidity in the freezer, Mr. Eliasson said — and an ionizer to remove airbubbles for smoother ice.

The eventual dismantling is discussed with less enthusiasm; the reality of 260 gallons ofmeltwater provokes nervous laughter and talk of sump pumps and wet vacuums.

Annette Ueberlein, a freelance art producer in Berlin who has worked on the project fortwo years, spent eight hours a day for three days spraying a fine mist of the chilled wateruntil a perfect layer of ice hung from the frame.

She was bundled in a North Icelandic brand jacket and boots and kept her blood flowingby stepping carefully on the extremely slippery floor while listening to her boyfriend’sGerman rock band on her iPod.

The freezer must stay on round the clock for four months, so museum officials resolvedthe “green” problem with its regular utility, Constellation NewEnergy. The companybought and then donated renewable energy certificates from a California geothermalplant to match the kilowatts that will be used for the show.

The museum has guards at the freezer’s entrance and exit. For the faint of heart, 50fleece blankets hang on pegs in the hallway. After all, as Mr. Urbach said, the exhibitionis “about absolute stasis, silence, frozenness, as well as about the future of motion.”

But it is also about drawing visitors. Officials expect 120,000 people to view the car andthe extended survey of Mr. Eliasson’s work also on display. (Only 20 people will beallowed in the freezer at a time.)

“This is not meant as a political statement,” said Jack Pitney, vice president formarketing and product development for BMW of North America, who called the carbreathtaking when he got his first tour of the freezer with Mr. Eliasson. “But if this carbegins to change people’s perceptions of hydrogen as a potential future power source,then that’s a good thing.”

It can’t hurt if the words “hydrogen” and “BMW” will roll off people’s tongues morefluidly once they stop shivering.

“This exhibition not only carries an important message about how we need to rethink theway we drive and use our natural resources to support our wishes,” Mr. Urbach said,“but it will also provide an experience of wonder, almost like a journey.”

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Page 3: NYT's Olafur Eliasson's Art Car

12/8/09 1:21 PM‘Objet d’Arctic,’ 2007, Artist Known - New York Times

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