BMW BLOG

“Expression of Joy” has become one of the most popular phrases used within the BMW world these days. The successful marketing campaign that revolves around the new 2009 BMW Z4 is is accompanying the roadster at every auto show these days.

It started with Geneva Motor Show and now ended up in New York City. The “Expression of Joy” is the reverse process of making a car, where the car is used as a brush  and it’s the one painting the surroundings.

The idea was conceived by the South African artist Robin Rhode who decided to give “life” to the Z4.

“This work is an expression of painting in action – my hope is to communicate the power and thrill inherent in the creation of art”, the artist said. “For me, the use of an untraditional paintbrush like a high performance car is a great way to investigate the relationship between emotion, technology and industrial creativity.”

On a canvas of 200 feet long by 100 feet wide, the new Z4 was used to paint swirling shapes in primary colors like red, yellow and blue. One source of inspiration was the seminal work of Gerhard Richter´s series of paintings ‘Red, Yellow, Blue’ made in 1973 for the company headquarters in Munich, Germany”, Rhode explains.

When Artificial Life, Inc. has signed a global exclusive license agreement with BMW to develop the “BMW Z4 An Expression of Joy” application for iPhone and iTouch, the marketing idea and buzz word, extended beyond the automobile world and into the tech sphere.

At the NYC show, we had the opportunity to see the displayed painting along with the Z4 Roadster used in this process. For those of you that understand and appreciate art, this is a great example to use in your presentations and for the other “geeks” and auto lovers like us, we just have to sit back and be glad that BMW has once again done something different.

BMW has also launched a new microsite around the “Expression Of Joy” campaign.