An Actual 1953 VW Beetle Formed into a Perfect Sphere by Ichwan Noor
An artist in Indonesia has turned one of the most iconic cars ever produced into a giant ball. The aptly-named Beetle Sphere is the latest sculpture from Ichwan Noor, a Jakarta-based artist who molds cars into three-dimensional spheres and cubes. For this installation, Noor chose a 1953 yellow Volkswagen Beetle as his subject matter, combining it with polyester and aluminum materials to create a giant sphere.
Noor has already molded five Beetle Spheres using this same technique, but exhibited only one of them earlier this month at Art Basel Hong Kong. According to the Japan Times, it sold for $88,000 shortly after the show opened. For more images of his collection, including some of his anatomical works, click here.
The idea emerged from a personal perception towards objects that are products of a “transportation culture”, which induces hints/signs of spiritual emotion. To behold a vehicle (car) is to have a “magical” (supernatural) identity. Sculptures represent the interaction between humans and the object realm, with strong spiritual tension that affects the subconscious, and that yields a new “animistic” attitude. By combining the techniques of manipulation and substitution, the form of this sculpture tends toward realistic distortion, which allows new interpretations about the object (car), as a shift in perception that creates an associative meaning. The sculpture’s visual form yields an impression of a sphere – the basis of all forms. The shape of a car is pressed onto the spherical form, producing a dynamic movement, a certain flexibility, but also fragility. It is a concept of “totems” that is embraced/believed by the people of today. – Ichwan Noor
[via Colossal, images See-ming Lee]