Benjamin M. Monroe Blog: Unofficial Art Car: Milan Kunc designs BMW i8 Roadster 4 Elements

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Unofficial Art Car: Milan Kunc designs BMW i8 Roadster 4 Elements

With an unofficial Art Car based on the BMW i8 Roadster, Milan Kunc points to the urgent environmental issues of our time. The BMW i8 Roadster 4 Elements by the Czech artist deals with many of the key issues that people are currently facing on our planet. The unique i8 model will later be auctioned to support the project “The Ocean Cleanup” and therefore making an active contribution to the purification of the oceans.

The basic color Milan Kunc chose for the i8 is 24 carat gold, with all other motifs being painted directly on the gold. The gold painting technique is a separate chapter of Milan Kunce’s work, and in the case of the BMW i8 Roadster, the artist took advantage of the experience of designer Zoltán Matuška, who is the author of the earlier BMW i3 and i8 STARLIGHT EDITION.

These cars also used a genuine gold color on their bodywork. Zoltán Matuška and varnicher Miroslav Špičák therefore prepared the BMW i8 Roadster in gold color. They used the BMW ColorSystem varnishing technology using BASF varnishes and used in paint shops of official BMW service partners. On this basis, Milan Kunc created his artwork on four rounds. To ensure durability, the whole was overlaid with four layers of high-quality transparent high gloss varnish, again from the BMW ColorSystem program.

The BMW i8 Roadster 4 Elements by Milan Kunc carries on its body a surrealistic expression of four essential elements in a clearly recognizable style of Milan Kunce. Every part of the car is a separate story of each of the elements – fire, water, air and earth. The viewer is deliberately provoked by the painter, pointing to the current state of our planet. Painting raises questions about the direction of further development of mankind and our planet Earth.

Milan Kunc commented on his ideas behind the design of a unique car.

Hood.
“Butterfly and vegetation represent the element of air and energy transformation of natural forces. I chose the butterfly as the symbol of this miraculous metamorphosis. “
Right side – Earth and air.
“Landscapes transformed by us, people. I present a unique environment for people and animals whose purity is a prerequisite for the further development of life. The wind power plants depicted here use wind power, a renewable energy source.Flowers, bees, birds, and animals represent a balance in nature. “
Left side – water.
“Fish, snails, crabs, starfish – the presence of these animals and their survival are a sign of a balanced environment for which we, people, are responsible. It is they who are dependent on the purity of this element – water. “

Stern – fire.
“Our planet is a part of the cosmos in which all these metamorphoses have been taking place since ancient times. Fire here symbolizes the source of energy needed to sustain life and its development. Also the driving force forward – the engine, the heart of the car! Let’s touch the cosmos theme, I point to the need for recycling. It is also a challenge for our responsibility in using fossil energy sources. “

The first stop of the BMW i8 Roadster 4 element is the Invelt Showroom in Prague. Other exhibition venues will include the BMW Museum in Munich. At the end of the tour, an auction will take place.