For the 78th running of the 24 hours of Le Mans BMW brought a tradition back when the #79 BMW GT2 adorned the elaborate designs of American artist Jeff Koons.
Despite the early retirement of the LM GT2 car driven by Dirk Werner, Dirk Müller and Andy Priaulx Koons was delighted with the experience.
“This race has been a very invigorating experience.” said the artist. “It's amazing to see the commitment of all the people involved. The fans sleep in tents and stay awake for far more than 24 hours to celebrate this event. This has me really going, as I understand that it is something truly special for all the people to be here. It's unfortunate that the BMW M3 GT2 Art Car had to retire early, but it's part of racing.”
Over the course of the Art Car project Koons worked closely with BMW and the #79 team to create the living work of art and he admits that he would of loved to have seen the car win, he also added that he would love to see the car compete again.
Drawing comparison to the dynamics and power of motor racing to the art world he say “There are many parallels. Everything is a metaphor for human life. If we build machines, it's all metaphoric for our own bodies. These race cars are like gladiators out there. They are performing with full power and full impact.”
Famed more for his giant reproductions of balloon animals in stainless steel Koons admitted it has been an interesting project to be involved in. “This project has felt so special to me, and working on it reminded me of human history. A history that you can trust the most is almost a biological narrative, it's our DNA. From the beginning of time to now. What people experience here is that life doesn't go so much through its physical form, but through the experience that is generated within people.”
