1985/1990 Champagne Taittinger Brut Bottle (Empty) with hang tag and box; Serigraph in white, light green, silver, yellow, green, and black on blue form encasing the glass bottle and in part on the side and top of yellow box that contains the bottle 1985/1990; Signed rf Lichtenstein in white, in the plate, lower bottom edge of bottle; Signed rf Lichtenstein in blue, in the plate, lower right on the top of the box and signed rf Lichtenstein in white, in the plate inside the lid of the box.
The BMW Art Car Project was introduced by the French racecar driver and auctioneer Herve Poulain, who wanted to invite an artist to create a canvas on an automobile. In 1975 the American artist Alexander Calder was the first artist selected and he painted a BMW 3.0 CSL; which Poulain himself raced at the Le Mans endurance race of the same year. Other artists also painted BMWs including David Hockney, Jenny Holzer, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein. There is a history of artists working on commercial projects and in other media outside of their known repertoire, such as paintings on canvas or traditional sculpture.
Photograph of the front of the bottle showing the hang tag and the signature along the bottom edge.
Photograph of the back of the bottle.
The Taittinger Company had a history of commissioning artists to design bottles for it's collection and some of the artists chosen include: Victor Vasarely, Arman, Andre Masson, and Marie-Elena Vieira da Silva. Lichtenstein's bottle was the fifth design in the Taittinger Collection series. He was approached about doing the design in 1986, and the bottle was introduced on October 16, 1990, in Paris, France. In the US, the Lichtenstein bottle was presented at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, on June 10, 1991. The image that Lichtenstein created is a wonderful (Ben-Day dot with flat color shading) abstracted head profile with flowing hair. There are grapes, grape leaves, and vines scattered throughout the bottle as well as champagne bubbles. The entire work is accomplished in a brilliant cobalt blue with white, yellow, pale blue, and silver making up the various elements. Each individual form is highlighted with black outlines, so that the colors are separated and therefore more intense. This image is also reproduced, in part, on the side and top of the yellow presentation box that contains the bottle. Lichtenstein's signature is reproduced on the bottle, the top of the box, and again inside the box lid. The box was printed in France by Quadra Creations. The edition is 100,000 vintage 1985 Tattinger bottles from Reims, France. The measurements are: Bottle: 3 3/4" x 3 3/4" x 13 1/2"; Box: 4 1/8" x 4" x 14".
Photograph of the open box showing the signature on the inside lid cover.
No comments:
Post a Comment