Andy Warhol: Cars: Business Art

Synopsis

In 1986, on the occasion of the 100th birthday of the automobile, the DaimlerChrysler corporation commissioned pop icon Andy Warhol to do a series about cars. Of the 80 planned pictures, which were to document the history of the automobile using 20 models from 1886 to the present, only 35 pictures and 12 large-format paintings were executed--the last series made by the artist, who died in 1987. This large-format book presents the work in total and, along with other commissioned work, further explores the many-faceted subject of Business Art. Robert Longo's partnership with DaimlerChrysler yielded a series of black-and-white portraits of Mercedes-Benz models; Simone Westwinter created watercolors of the corporation's persons and products; Mathis Neidhart's ongoing project takes a dialectical approach to conveying the brand-name philosophy of the company through art-specific questions. Interviews with John Armleder, Jeff Koons, Robert Longo, and Sarah Morris serve to expand on the subject matter.