Miami Beach. During this year´s Art Basel in Miami
Beach the BMW Group will present two major cultural collaborations:
The world premiere of “FRANCHISE FREEDOM – a flying sculpture by
Studio Drift in partnership with BMW” created by
Amsterdam based artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta. After sunset,
300 illuminated drones will simulate a flock of birds above the ocean
and beach. In addition, the new work of BMW Art
Journey winner Max Hooper Schneider will be
on display at the BMW Lounge.
Studio Drift’s new work at Art Basel in Miami
Beach
“FRANCHISE FREEDOM – a flying sculpture by Studio
Drift in partnership with BMW” is a performative artwork at the
interface between technology, science, and art. An autonomous flying
swarm of 300 drones, each equipped with a light source, will imitate
the natural phenomenon of a flock on December 6, 9 PM
on the beach of Miami above the sea between 32nd and 33rd
Street off Collins Avenue behind the Faena Hotel Miami Beach. This is
the first time that a flock on this scale is presented by machines
working with decentralized algorithms. Inspired by the spectacle of
starlings clustering together in massive flocks and exposing the
tension between individual freedom and safety in numbers, Studio Drift
questions the delicate balance between the group and the individual.
Studio Drift’s first research on this project dates back to 2007. To
create “FRANCHISE FREEDOM”, Studio Drift studied the natural flight
patterns of starlings and translated them into software that were
specially developed and embedded in the drones.
BMW has a 50-year global track record of recognizing and
enabling talent in the arts. The company makes artistic visions come
true and honors the full creative freedom of any artist or institution
they collaborate with. When Studio Drift sought a dialogue with BMW in
regard to their ambitious project, the company, as long-term partner
of Art Basel, could not pass on the challenge. For the period of over
half a year, discussions ensued between BMW and Studio Drift – just as
they did with artists like Jeff Koons, Olafur Eliasson, and Cao Fei beforehand.
“We were impressed by the courage of BMW to get involved here,
as an artwork of this scope and scale has never even been tested
before. They believed in our idea because they fully comprehend how
complicated and intricate those innovative processes are,” says
Lonneke Gordijn, co-founder of Studio Drift, Amsterdam.
At its core, BMW is at the forefront of technological
innovation, which is why “Franchise Freedom – a flying sculpture by
Studio Drift in partnership with BMW” holds such a strong appeal.
Making the impossible possible is what both, the company and artists,
such as Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta, strive for. Says
Hildegard Wortmann, Senior Vice President Brand
BMW: “Studio Drift and BMW both subscribe to a symbiosis of innovation
and beauty. I congratulate Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta for the
perseverance in turning their endeavor into a reality. ‘FRANCHISE
FREEDOM’ is both a technological wonder and an aesthetic experience to behold.”
In celebration of Art Basel in Miami Beach 2017, Studio Drift,
BMW, FuturePace as well as Faena will premiere “FRANCHISE FREEDOM”.
The private inaugural performance and event will take place on the
evening of Wednesday, December 6, on the beach of Faena Hotel with
additional performances, weather permitting, throughout the week, time
and date will be shared on Instagram by Studio Drift
@studio.drift and by BMW on Facebook
#bmwgroupculture. The drones will be visible from a large distance.
While Studio Drift is presenting their latest artwork at the
interface between science, art and technology, Bayerische Motoren
Werke will have one of their latest masterpiece on site: the
BMW Concept 8 Series will be on display for guests
to see it up close in the Faena Beach Dome on December 6, 2017. The
study car will serve as a taster of a forthcoming BMW model – The BMW
Concept 8 Series stands for new design ideas and form-building
techniques, representing the pinnacle of sports performance and
exclusivity at BMW and slated for launch in 2018 as part of the
biggest model offensive in the company’s history.
BMW Art Journey at Art Basel in Miami Beach
BMW
Art Journey winner Max Hooper Schneider will present his new work at
the BMW Lounge at Art Basel in Miami Beach 2017, made in response to
his recently completed maritime journey to explore coral reefs around
the globe. His journey investigated coral reef systems from the Bikini
Atoll to the Fukushima disaster “reef” in Japan, from Lake Baikal in
Russia to the coast of Madagascar. Importantly, each reef system has
been compromised by its contact with humans, and each one reveals a
specific aspect of how this interaction has occurred, as well as how
human and non-human agents have acted over time to remediate the
damage. Together, the reefs tell a story of death and resilience,
corruption and rebirth.
The BMW Art Journey is a global collaboration between Art Basel
and BMW, created to recognize and support emerging artists worldwide.
This unique award is open to artists who are exhibiting in the
Discoveries and Positions sectors in the Hong Kong and Miami Beach
shows of Art Basel, respectively. Two judging panels comprised of
internationally renowned experts meet first to select a shortlist of
three artists from the sector, who are then invited to submit
proposals for a journey aimed to further develop their ideas and
artistic work. The jury reconvenes to choose a winner from the three proposals.
Past winners of the BMW Art Journey include sound and
performance artist Samson Young (presented by a.m. Space, Hong Kong at
Art Basel’s Hong Kong show in 2015), who also represents Hong Kong at
the 2017 Venice Biennale, German video artists Henning Fehr and
Philipp Rühr (presented by Galerie Max Mayer, Dusseldorf at Art
Basel’s Miami Beach show in 2015), British artist Abigail Reynolds
(presented by Rokeby, London at Art Basel’s show in Hong Kong in 2016)
as well as Max Hooper Schneider (presented by High Art, Paris at Art
Basel’s Miami Beach show in 2016) and Astha Butail (represented by
GALLERYSKE, Bangalore at Art Basel´s Hong Kong show in 2017).
The next BMW Art Journey shortlist will be announced on
December 7 at 5:30 PM at the BMW Lounge at the 2017
edition of Art Basel in Miami Beach.
The members of this year´s expert jury in Miami Beach are:
Massimiliano Gioni (Artistic Director New Museum, New
York City),
Gabi Ngcobo (Curator Berlin Biennale for
Contemporary Art, Berlin),
Victoria Noorthoorn (Director Museu de Arte Moderna,
Buenos Aires)
Philipp Tinari (Director Ullens Centre for
Contemporary Art, Beijing) and
Susanne Pfeffer (Director Museum Fridericianium, Kassel)
BMW has supported Art Basel in Miami Beach as a long-term
partner and is again providing the VIP shuttle service. BMW is also
global partner of the international Art Basel shows in Basel and Hong Kong.
For further information about the artists and the project,
please visit: http://bmw-art-journey.com
For further questions please contact:
Dr Thomas
Girst
BMW Group Corporate and Governmental Affairs
Cultural Engagement
Telephone: +49 89 382 247 53
Fax:
+49 89 382 24418
www.press.bmwgroup.com
E-Mail:
presse@bmw.de
Studio Drift / Pace Gallery press
inquiries:
Hanna Gisel
Pace Gallery
Email: hgisel@pacegallery.com
About Studio Drift
Based in Amsterdam, Studio
Drift was established in 2006 by Lonneke Gordijn (b. 1980, Alkmaar,
Netherlands) and Ralph Nauta (b. 1978, Swindon, United Kingdom), who
attended the Design Academy Eindhoven together. Studio Drift explores
the relationship between nature, technology, and humankind in
site-specific installations and interactive sculptures. Studio Drift
draws their inspiration from nature, both formally and
philosophically, while their creative process is fuelled by innovative
technologies and methods. Their groundbreaking work comes to life
through ongoing collaborations with scientists, university
departments, and research facilities, computer programmers and
engineers. Their practice is a testament to the cross-pollination
between the technically advanced and the aesthetically beautiful,
permeated with an awareness of future potential.
About FuturePace
Studio Drift is
represented by Pace Gallery, taking part in the gallery’s FuturePace
program. Established by Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, Pace Gallery, and
Mark Davy, founder of Futurecity, FuturePace offers a pioneering
approach to commissioning art ‘in the public realm’. The partnership
builds on the expansive and important histories of both Pace and
Futurecity, bridging Pace’s extensive global resources with
Futurecity’s innovative approach to developing large scale commissions
for artists in the public realm. FuturePace develops partnerships and
opportunities with an international group of artists including Studio
Drift, Kohei Nawa, Carsten Nicolai, Random International, Michal
Rovner, Studio Swine, teamLab, and Leo Villareal articulating a focus
on art that transforms conventions of public sculpture by reaching
into the digital sphere.
About Max Hooper Schneider
Max Hooper Schneider
(born Los Angeles, CA 1982) graduated from Harvard University in 2011
with a master’s degree in landscape architecture. The foregrounding of
material technologies and biological systems within this field
continues to inform his artistic practice. Hooper Schneider’s work
develops and explores the aesthetics of succession through the
creation of worlds that materialize and dramatize nature in diverse
ways with nature conceived as a process of ceaseless change and
morphogenic modulation. The resultant work voids the difference
between the natural and the artificial, challenges conventional
systems of classification, and suggests a worldview that strives to
dislocate humans from their assumed position of centrality and
superiority as knowers and actors in the world. Hooper Schneider lives
and works in Los Angeles.
About Art Basel
Founded in 1970 by
gallerists from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world’s premier art
shows for Modern and contemporary art, sited in Basel, Miami Beach and
Hong Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique,
which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented,
and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with
local institutions for each edition. Art Basel’s engagement has
expanded beyond art fairs through a number of new initiatives. In
2014, Art Basel launched its Crowd funding Initiative, in
collaboration with Kickstarter. This initiative presents jury-selected
art projects to potential benefactors, which include Art Basel’s
vibrant audience and the Kickstarter community. The initiative has
catalyzed much-needed support for outstanding non-commercial art
projects worldwide and so far has helped pledge over $2 million to
creative projects around the world. For Art Basel Cities, launched in
2016, Art Basel is working with selected partner cities to develop
vibrant and content-driven programs specific to the individual city.
Connecting them to the global art world through Art Basel’s expertise
and network, Art Basel Cities supports its partners to develop their
unique cultural landscape. For further information, please visit artbasel.com.
About BMW Group’s Cultural Commitment
For
almost 50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in over
100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus
of its long-term commitment on contemporary and modern art, classical
music and jazz as well as architecture and design. In 1972, three
large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richter
specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group’s Munich headquarters.
Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Daniel Barenboim,
Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have co-operated with BMW. In
2016 and 2017, female artist Cao Fei from China and American John
Baldessari created the next two vehicles for the BMW Art Car
Collection. Besides co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate Live, the BMW Art
Journey and the “Opera for All” concerts in Berlin, Munich and London,
the company also partners with leading museums and art fairs as well
as orchestras and opera houses around the world. The BMW Group takes
absolute creative freedom in all its cultural activities for granted –
as this is as essential for producing groundbreaking artistic work as
it is for major innovations in a successful business.
Further information: www.bmwgroup.com/culture
and www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BMW-Group-Culture-925330854231870/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/bmwgroupculture/
@BMWGroupCulture
#BMWGroupCulture
The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI,
Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading
premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides
premium financial and mobility services. As a global company, the BMW
Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries
and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2016, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.367 million cars and
145,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax was approximately
€ 9.67 billion on revenues amounting to € 94.16 billion. As of 31
December 2016, the BMW Group had a workforce of 124,729 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
www.bmwgroup.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroup
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/BMWGroup
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupview
Google+:
http://googleplus.bmwgroup.com